The Blending
by redroosterdawn
Summary: Summary: Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **_**The Blending 15**_

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

Summary: The most gifted witch of her generation with the most powerful young wizard. Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?

Author's note: From the beginning it appeared to me that these two young people were destined to be together. Of all the wizards Hermione could latch onto, Harry was the one. She is the most gifted witch of her generation. She would seek out an equally gifted wizard. It makes no sense for her to be with an idiot, clown, and total screw up that she has at least one major fight with and doesn't speak to for long periods of time.

part one The year begins anew

25 August

It was the seventh and final year at Hogwarts for one Harry Potter. One more year and there would be no more restrictions on his life. Harry was very excited about that prospect.

He wouldn't have to live with his aunt and uncle anymore. Though he really didn't know where he was going to live or what he was going to do at least there wouldn't be anyone telling him.

He still had a rather large inheritance from his parents and the estate that Sirius Black left him when he died. It was a very large and old house. For some reason Hermione liked it there, why he didn't know.

It was a bit run down since no one had lived there for many years. He couldn't imagine living there by himself, maybe if Hermione was there with him. Where did that thought come from. She was only a friend.

Their relationship was that of friendship not romantic in nature. At least he had never thought of it in that manner though he had to admit his relationship with Hermione had come between a few of his failed conquest of other young ladies. They all thought he and Hermione were a couple.

Harry decided to rent a car for the last month of the summer. His uncle wasn't too pleased about it, but Harry had made the argument that it was normal for a boy of seventeen to be driving around in a car. Dudley had a car to drive around town with his girlfriend.

He also argued the point that if he had a car his uncle wouldn't have to drive him around town after work when he was tired. He could also run errands for Aunt Petunia so his uncle wouldn't have to.

He would be around the house less thus his uncle would see less of him. He knew his uncle didn't hate him, but he wasn't fond of his kind. They seemed to make him nervous. He remembered last year when the Weasleys came for a visit.

Since he had his own car and was free to go wherever he wanted. Hermione had invited him to come for a visit at her home for the two weeks before they returned to Hogwarts. She had been calling him several times a week that summer.

He had never had anyone calling him on the telephone on a regular basis. Ron had tried one year, but had met great resistance from his uncle. Of course her calls were different than the usual ones. They weren't about Hogswart.

They were more of a personal nature. It left him more than a little confused. He was a little surprised when she issued the invitation.

Every year after they met Ron on the trip to Hogwarts the first year they would get together at Ron's house a week or two before they returned to school. It had been interesting to see how a wizard family lived.

He couldn't say too much about the Burrow, the house that Ron lived in. It was completely opposite of the house he lived in. Aunt Petunia was a neat freak. She didn't like to see a speck of dirt anywhere.

As much as he hated to admit it, it was a comfortable place to live once he didn't have to sleep in the closet under the stairs. He wished he had more to eat though. He never seemed to get enough to eat while he was at home as he did when he was at Hogwarts.

The Weasley's house wasn't exactly like home. It was worn down and welled lived in. Nothing in it was new. Most of the furniture had been broken more than a few times. There wasn't enough room for everyone and it was never very clean.

But what could one say about a place where so many people lived. As soon as you cleaned one room someone walked in and dropped their stuff in it. But as run down as it was it felt more like a home than where he lived.

He wondered why after so many years Hermione had finally decided to invite him to her home. He was sure that it would be quite different than the Burrow. Her parents were muggles, that is they were normal. He guessed it would be pretty nice.

He wondered what kind of house they lived in. It had to be very nice. Hermione had told him both of her parents were dentists. He knew that was a very profitable profession. He still wondered why she wanted him to visit her now.

He hoped it wasn't one of those meet the parents kind of things. Dudley had told him that teenage girls like to have their boyfriends meet their parents when their relationship reached a certain point.

They usually wanted more out of their relationship than you did. Dudley had told him it was a prelude to them wanting to get married. Get married! What a thought that was. He didn't know what he even wanted to do with his life never mind get married.

He had to admit to himself that he did miss her. It had been almost two months since he had last seen her. She had always been a very special friend to him even when he was interested in other girls. She was always there for him whenever he needed her.

He did find it interesting though that this year he missed her more than he did other years. He wondered what had changed between them to make him feel this way. Did it have something to do with being seventeen?

Was it because he wanted someone special in his life, someone who was more than just a friend? He had to admit he was jealous of some of his friends who had found a girl to be with, that is more than just friends.

Even Dudley had a girlfriend this year. He was kind of shock that it was even remotely possible for Dudley. Then again she wasn't exactly a small girl either. They seemed to love each other, at least that was what Dudley told him.

He packed all his things he would need for school in the car and droved to her house. It was a long drive, more than two hours long. She lived near the coast not far from the ocean. It was a large house, almost twice as large as the Burrow.

She was waiting there for him out on the front porch. She ran down the steps to greet him when he got out of the car. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him like she never kissed him before. He was a bit surprised by its intensity.

He wondered why she was kissing him in such a manner, not that he mind. He kind of liked it. He found himself automatically returning the kiss. He didn't want to stop, but she finally pulled away from him.

Maybe she missed him as much as he missed her. They had been spending more time together last spring. She had taken to kissing him good morning and good night everyday. He didn't know why she did, but he did like it.

"I'm so glad you're finally here Harry, I've missed you so much. My Mom and Dad have been waiting to meet you. I'm afraid that I've been talking about you nonstop for the last six years whenever I'm home. They don't believe that you're a real person." Hermione rambled on excitedly as she took his hand and led him up the steps into the house.

Six years, had it been that long since he had first met her. She was a wee little thing back then, barely four and a half feet tall. She was kind of adorable then when she would raise her hand so excitedly to answer a question.

He though she would explode from the excitement. Some of their teachers appreciated her enthusiasm, but not Professor Snape. He thought she was a know it all.

It got to the point Professor Snape would say Ms Granger can't be the only one who knows the answer and he would start deducting points from every house until he got an answer from someone besides her.

Hermione had grown to be quite tall as she had grown more than a foot and filled out quite nicely. She was quite beautiful now. She was more comfortable about herself."I hope you haven't been waiting long. I got lost a couple of times on the way here. I turned the wrong way once or twice." replied Harry. He was still a little dazed from her greeting."Only since the last time I saw you Harry. As much as I love spending time at home here with my family every summer, it means that I don't get to see you everyday. I've gotten use to seeing your face every morning." cooed Hermione.

Harry didn't know exactly how to respond to that. Hermione had never expressed herself in such a manner to him before. She had always been just a friend. Now she was making it seem that she wanted to be more than just a friend, she wanted to be his one and only, no other girls allowed.

It left him more than a little confused. If they were going to be a couple, he wondered how that would affect their relationship with Ron? Ron had been his best friend since he met him on the train. He was the first friend he had at Hogwarts.

They had spent a lot of time doing things together as a threesome. How would that change if he and Hermione were a couple? He knew that Ron had feelings for Hermione, but what kind of feelings were they?

How strong were Ron's feelings for Hermione? They usually fought with each other at least once every year and Ron wouldn't speak to Hermione for weeks at a time which usually put him in the middle.

He liked spending time with both of them and he never took sides. He didn't understand why Ron still hadn't forgiven her for going to the Tri Wizards Ball with Viktor Krum several years ago. Ron believed she had betrayed Hogwarts. She was siding with the enemy.

Harry couldn't understand the thought process behind that line of thinking. He could remember Ron going on and on that summer about how Viktor Krum was the greatest Quidditch player in the world. Ron had a man crush on Viktor.

He even had several replica dolls of Viktor. He had even seen Ron kiss the doll on more than one occasion. Maybe that explained the kiss she gave him. Still he wondered why she had never greeted him like that before?

She was never affectionate like this at school. Maybe she felt uncomfortable kissing him in front of Ron and his family. They had always been friends since the day they met. He had garnered unwanted attention both good and bad.

She had always been envied for being the most gifted witch at Hogwarts. During good times and bad they could always count on each other. It was a source of great comfort to have a friend like that."Come Harry, my parents are waiting to meet you. They're waiting inside." smiled Hermione as she took his hand in her small one.

It was a move that surprised him a little more. It was such a wonderful sensual feeling. Her hand was small and very soft. It fit perfectly in his larger hand. Little Harry was telling him he was happy too. He was embarrassed.

They walked back up to the house. It was magnificent. He had never seen a house more impressive. They went inside and then out onto the back porch where her parents were relaxing in the shade looking out at the ocean."Mom, Dad, this is Harry." introduced Hermione happily. She hoped that they liked him. She couldn't imagine being with anyone else."Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Granger." mumbled Harry in greeting. He felt like he was on display like a piece of meat at a werewolf convention.

"Harry, it's so nice to finally meet you. Hermione has told us so much about you. I think you are her favorite subject at school." teased her father. He had never seen his baby girl looking so happy.

"Daddy!" exclaimed an embarrassed Hermione.

Her cheeks were changing to a dark crimson red. Her father just laughed at her embarrassment. He had never seen her like this before. It was nice to see her with a boy. He was worried that she spent too much time in the library studying and not enough time socializing with the boys.

"Would you like something to eat or drink Harry? There are sandwiches on the table and tonic in the cooler." offered her mother.

She was surprised to see that Harry had grown quite tall. Hermione had always told her that Harry was one of the shorter boys in class.

"Thank you Ma'am. I guess I'm a little hungry after the long drive." smiled Harry nervously.

He took a couple of sandwiches and placed them on a plate. He grabbed a tonic and sat down next to Hermione. She seemed to inch closer and closer to him as the afternoon wore on.

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking. They showed him the room he would be staying in. It was impressive. It was nearly as large as all the bedrooms at his aunt and uncle's house.

After dinner Hermione told Harry to change into some swimming trunks. She wanted to take a walk along the beach to her favorite spot where she liked to go swimming. He put on some swimming trunks and a T-shirt and went outside to wait for her.

She arrived a few moments later wearing a two piece swimsuit and a see thru blouse one wore at the beach. Harry was a bit dumbfounded. He had never seen her dressed in this manner before. She looked beautiful.

Hell, he had never seen any girl dressed this way before except for on television when Dudley would watch old reruns of an American show called, Bay Watch, a show about female lifeguards.

She looked so beautiful. She had long slender legs, a tiny little waist, and her chest was pleasantly endowed. He had never imagined her looking so perfect. She gave him a beautiful smile and took one of his hands in hers.

"What's the matter Harry?" asked Hermione coyly. She had noticed the look on his face when he saw her."Nothing, nothing, everything is perfect." Harry replied."What's perfect Harry?" she asked looking for confirmation to what she suspected he meant.

"You, here on the beach, wearing a bikini. You look beautiful Hermione. I never realized that you were so beautiful Hermione." replied Harry.

"Thank you Harry, that is very kind of you to say, you're not so bad looking yourself." smiled Hermione. He thought that she was beautiful. That was the first time he had ever said anything of the kind to her.

They walked along the beach for awhile to one of her favorite spots. The water was warm and not very deep. There was a sand bar that went out almost two hundred feet from shore. They swam some and played in the water for about thirty minutes before returning to the beach.

They dried themselves off and sat down on the blanket that Harry had laid out. Hermione started a small fire for ambience. She pulled out a couple of tonics from the basket to drink as they settled down to wait for the sun to set.

"It's beautiful here." remarked Harry."It's one of my favorite places to watch the sun set. It's very beautiful when the sun meets the water and sinks. The colors are breathtaking." replied Hermione."It's too bad that Ron and Ginny aren't here. We could have had so much fun in the water." observed Harry wondering why his friend wasn't there with them. He was feeling a little awkward right about now."Are you sure Harry? You know how much he dislikes doing something new. All he would do is complain and whine that we won't do what he likes to do. He never goes swimming with us and our friends whenever we go to the lake when we're at Hogwarts." countered Hermione."I think he still suffering from the trauma of being under water for an hour during the Tri Wizards Tournament a few years ago. He thought he had died and gone to Valhalla." replied Harry."I don't think so Harry, George told me that Ron hasn't liked the water since he almost drown in the bath tub when he was three years old." corrected Hermione.

Hermione moved closer to Harry taking his hand with hers. She was hoping that Harry would take the hint and kiss her.

"So when can we expect to see Ron and Ginny? When are they coming? I was quite surprise to learn that we weren't going to the Burrow again this year." asked Harry hoping to distract her.

He was feeling a little uncomfortable. He had seen what usually happened whenever a girl wanted to hold hands with one of his friends. He wasn't sure he wanted to spend the night kissing Hermione.

If he did, he was sure they would be doing it every night while he was staying there. What would he do about little Harry? Little Harry had a knack of being active all night when he wanted to play."They aren't coming Harry. I wanted to spend some time alone with you before we go back to Hogwarts without listening to Ron whining about something unimportant. He can be such a pill when he wants to be." moaned Hermione.

She hated talking about Ron. He could never take a hint whenever she wanted to be alone with Harry. It was like he was jealous of anyone who spent time wit Harry. Was it possible he was gay? Was that the real problem?"You should have told me Hermione." sulked Harry. He was looking forward to spending some time with Ron before they went back. They always had fun doing guy stuff together, something that was hard to do at Hogwarts.

"Told you what Harry? I invited you to visit me this summer. It's what most normal people do Harry. I wanted to spend some time with you before we went back to Hogwarts. I didn't want to listen to Ron whine about everything.

You know he's not capable of entertaining himself. He expects others to come up with ideas of things to do and then he'll complain about the different choices. He's lazy. He likes sitting around doing nothing except watching Quidditch.

I didn't want my vacation spoiled by listening to him complain. Besides Harry, it's what they do in polite society. They invite you to their home, you invite them to yours. I didn't want you to spend your whole summer with your family." replied Hermione."They have invited you to the Burrow many times Hermione. I have never invited you to visit me." countered Harry."Ronald has never invited me to the Burrow Harry. He has always been agitated whenever I have shown up there. It has always been Ginny or her mother that has invited me. Besides Ron has been spending his time with Luna this summer." corrected Hermione."I don't believe that. Ron doesn't even like Luna." argued Harry.

"Are you sure Harry? Ron has known Luna all his life. She use to spend most of her summers at the Burrow until her mother died. Luna has been sending me owl grams all summer telling me how Ron walks her home every night and that they spend at least thirty minutes making out." smiled didn't know what to say. He found that hard to believe, but Ron was always saying one thing and doing something else. Before he knew what was happening, they were lying on the blanket with Hermione on top of him kissing him passionately.

Harry was a bit surprised, not that she was kissing him, but by the intensity of the kiss. While he always suspected that she liked him more than just as a friend, he was surprised that she felt this strongly about him.

Was that why she invited him there? Was she trying to tell him that she wanted more from their relationship? At the moment though he didn't want to think about it. All he could focus on right now was his best friend kissing him and that he was enjoying it.

And unlike earlier when he arrived, she wasn't stopping. It was a pattern that they would continue to do every night for the next two weeks until they headed back to Hogwarts.

Later that evening Mrs. Granger caught up with her daughter on the back porch. She was sitting there quietly looking up at the stars thinking about her first night with Harry. She looked so happy with a very contented look on her face.

"Hi Mom." greeted Hermione when she saw her mother."You look happy tonight Hermione. Did you and Harry have a good time?" asked Mrs. Granger with a wry smile."It was pretty wonderful mom. We went for a walk along the beach, we went swimming, and we watched the sunset." replied Hermione dreamily."Did you let Harry know how you feel about him? Did you share a kiss with him?" asked Mrs. Granger. She couldn't believe that her little girl was so grown up and dating now. She knew Hermione had been love with Harry for some time now."Mom!" exclaimed Hermione in disbelief. She couldn't believe that her mother was being so direct with her."You're not a child anymore Hermione. If you don't feel comfortable about talking to me about it, then maybe you should rethink what you're doing. You shouldn't be ashame if you love him Hermione." replied Mrs. Granger.

"Yes mom, we kissed. It was pretty nice. I feel warm and fuzzy inside." wailed Hermione realizing the truth in what her mother had said."Do you think he likes you as much as you like him?" asked Mrs. Granger. First love could be very special. It could be so intense, make you feel so good, and make you forget about everything else. "I don't know. He does like kissing me though." smiled Hermione dreamily."I like him Hermione. Harry seems to be a very nice boy. Just be careful that you don't go too far. You don't want to push him too fast or too hard. I think he knows what you want from him now. Take your time, go slow. Make sure he wants the same things as you do." counseled Mrs. Granger.

Everyday for the next two weeks they would take long walks along the beach holding hands. They would talk about their plans for the upcoming year. Harry was looking forward to playing Quidditch, spending time with his friends, and maybe even getting closer with Hermione.

Whether or not he did that though, depended upon Ron. He wanted to know what Ron's feelings were for Hermione. He wanted to know that if he and Hermione were together, how would that affect Ron? Would Ron still want to be his friend?


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **_**The Blending 15**_

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

Summary: The most gifted witch of her generation with the most powerful young wizard. Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?

Author's note: From the beginning it appeared to me that these two young people were destined to be together. Of all the wizards Hermione could latch onto, Harry was the one. She is the most gifted witch of her generation. She would seek out an equally gifted wizard. It makes no sense for her to be with an idiot, clown, and total screw up that she has at least one major fight with and doesn't speak to for long periods of time.

part two Meeting up with their friends

2 September

Hogwarts' Express

It was time to return to Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione said good bye to her parents and made the long trip to London. Harry decided to drive since he still had his rental car. They reached the train station about an hour early.

They didn't know what to do. They had never been early to the train station before since they always came with the Weasleys. No matter how well the Weasleys planned their trip to London, something always went wrong.

Harry and Hermione didn't have to do any shopping for supplies since Hermione never waited until the last minute. She bought her supplies within a week or two of returning home. Harry had bought his supplies a month later.

They boarded the train to wait for their friends. They knew that their friends wouldn't arrive until the last minute. No matter how well Ron and his family planned to get to the train station, they were never able to arrive as planned.

Something always seemed to go wrong. Hermione looked up when she heard a commotion coming from outside the compartment. She saw Luna and Ginny entering the compartment first when the door opened. Ron was the last one to enter.

He seemed to be very annoyed with them. Harry and Hermione didn't understand why he was so agitated, but they suspected that it had to have something to do with Luna.

They wondered what she could have possibly done to put Ron in such a state. Then again they were surprised to see Luna with Ron and Ginny. She had never come to the station with him before.

"Ron, it's nice to see you again. What has you in such a state?" greeted Harry. It took all his self-control not to laugh at the sight of his poor friend.

"Hi Harry, Hermione. We almost didn't make the train because of these two." whined Ron. "We were ready to go three hours ago, but we had to wait for Luna. For some reason she decided she wanted to go to London with us this year."

"I told you why Ron, my grandfather wasn't up to making the trip. He hasn't been feeling well all week. Your mother offered to take me with you. It's not as if I was putting you out. There are only two of you returning to Hogwarts this year, not like a few years ago when there were five of you plus Harry and Hermione." smiled Luna.

"You were more than an hour late." replied an annoyed Ron.

"I told you why I was late. I was ready to leave. You were supposed to come to my house and get me. It's what a gentleman does. Besides it was you who caused us to almost miss the train." argued Luna.

"What did he do this time?" asked Hermione shaking her head. Leave it to Ron to screw up a good thing.

"He was upset that Luna wasn't at the Burrow so he decided to go for a walk and when he returned he was soaking wet and smelled of cow manure." grinned Ginny. Ron's ears were turning pink.

"What happened?" asked Hermione. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see that Harry was laughing quietly so he wouldn't offend his good friend.

"He gave us some lame excuse that none of us believed." smiled Ginny.

"Why didn't you believe him?" asked Harry. He knew Ron was incapable of telling the truth whenever he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing.

"In order for him to be covered in manure he would have to have been somewhere where there are cows presents. Since he was also wet he needed to be near water of some kind. Where he told us he went there aren't any cows never mind water." explained Ginny.

"Where was he then?" asked Hermione. She was getting pretty curious to know what Ron had gone.

"Ginny!" exclaimed Ron.

"We think he went to see Luna. He must have cut across Hanson's cow pasture and was chased by their old bull. Ron must have tripped over his enormously large feet and fell into some manure." laughed Ginny.

"Harry, how come you didn't come to the Burrow this summer?" whined Ron trying to change the subject. Nothing good could come from where this conversation was heading.

"He's seventeen Ron." explained Luna.

"So?" pouted Ron. He didn't understand what being seventeen had to do with anything.

"In the real world Ron when you're seventeen, you're allowed to drive a car. My Uncle finally let me drive one this summer." replied Harry.

Ron was so confused. What did driving a car have to do with not coming to the Burrow this summer? Harry had been coming to the Burrow every year since First year. Harry was his best friend. He missed him.

He had to deal with Ginny and Luna all by himself. He had lost the battle as he had finally succumbed to the temptation that Luna had to offer.

"I still don't understand what that has to do with anything and why you didn't come." whined Ron still not understanding.

"Why Ron? Were you lonely for male companionship? I thought you would be happy that Fred and George weren't around to pick on you anymore." asked Hermione in a teasing manner.

She and Luna had been sending Owl grams this summer. Luna had been spending a lot of time at the Burrow this summer. It was nice to have a girlfriend. Most of the other witches were jealous of her.

"Seventeen is the age when young men are in love Ron. They want to spend more time with their ladylove rather than being with their old buddies. Well at least normal young men do." giggled Luna along with Ginny and Hermione.

"Harry's not in love." snapped Ron. He couldn't be. Ron feared being alone this year at school. They were Seventh year. It was their turn to rule the roost.

"Harry came to see me this summer Ron." Hermione informed the group.

Ron was still confused and now upset. He didn't see the connection between visiting Hermione and being seventeen and in love. Harry didn't love Hermione, he did. He didn't know when it had happen, but he was in love with her now.

"Hermione lives near the coast. We went swimming and took long walks along the beach everyday." offered Harry though he was confused with the discussion too.

He was puzzled about being seventeen and being in love. He had gone to Hermione home to visit her because she was his friend. It had nothing to do with being in love though he had enjoyed being with her the last two weeks. They did share more than a few kisses.

"So why were you going to see Luna, Ronald? Were you going to share a private kiss with her before going back to Hogwarts? I heard that you spent a lot of time with her this summer." teased Hermione.

"I did not! Ginny and Luna were the ones who spent the summer together, not me." Ron replied defiantly. He usually found somewhere else to be whenever Luna arrived.

"That's not true, Fred and George paid us to torment you since they weren't going to be home this summer." retorted Ginny with a grin.

"Poor Ron, it must be so nice to always be the center of attention at the Burrow." laughed Hermione.

Ron got up to leave. He had waited all summer to see Harry, to talk with him. Finally Harry was there with them, but everyone was picking on him. He left in a huff in search of some food and maybe a friend or two to commiserate with.

While he liked getting recognition, he didn't like to be the butt of anyone's joke. He thought that aspect of his life was finally over when Fred and George decided to open up a gag shop in London.

"So Hermione, how was your time with Harry? Did you have fun?" asked Luna smiling.

"Tell us everything Hermione." pleaded Ginny.

"What? We spent a couple of weeks together. We talked about what we want to do this year. We took walks along the beach and went swimming in the ocean, nothing more. We're just friends." smiled Hermione slyly.

"I'm surprised that you haven't asked her about the house she lives in or about her parents." commented Harry. He didn't want to be the conversation topic now that Ron was gone.

"Hermione showed us pictures of her house a couple years ago. We already know that her parents are dentists." replied Ginny.

"I don't like to think about someone putting their hands into my mouth." shuddered Luna.

"Come on Hermione, did you and Harry kiss?" whined Ginny.

"We had some pleasant moments together. The best thing was that Ron wasn't there. We didn't have to listen to him whine and complaining. We didn't have to deal with his childish behavior." smiled Hermione.

"Hermione! Ron is our friend. He's not that bad." moaned Harry wondering why they were being so cruel to his good friend.

"Yes he is!" exclaimed Luna and Ginny together.

"Harry, once we get back to school Ron will be around all the time. We won't have much time to be alone together. You know he won't take a hint and leave us alone. It was nice to have you all to myself for two weeks and not have to compete with Ron for your attention." explained Hermione.

It wasn't so much that she didn't like him, she just didn't want to spend all her time with Harry with Ron there with them.

"You have never had to compete with Ron for my attention Hermione. It's pretty hard to ignore you. Besides, all you had to say 'I need to show you something that I found in the library.' You know how much he hates going there. He's afraid that he'll learn something by osmosis if he picked up a book." laughed Harry.

"Did you enjoy spending two weeks alone with Hermione?" asked Ginny in a teasing manner.

"Let's see, I was away from my uncle, aunt, and Dudley. That's always a good thing. I saw where Hermione lived. I've never seen a place as nice as her house. It must be at least twice as large as the Burrow. I had never seen the ocean or walked along the beach before. The air was fresh and invigorating." smiled Harry.

"What about being with Hermione?" whined Luna.

"She did look rather nice in her little blue bikini. She had more than a few other colors too." smiled Harry.

"What is a bikini?" asked Luna. Ginny was perplexed too.

"The greatest invention man ever created for a woman." smiled Harry. Luna and Ginny were still confused.

"It's a two piece swimsuit. The top part is similar to a bra without the support. And the bottom part covers one's derriere." smiled Hermione. She was more than a little embarrassed with the discussion of her swimwear.

But before they could say anything more about bikinis Ron walked back into the compartment with some snacks and drinks for everyone even though he was still upset with them. He hoped that they wouldn't pick on him anymore and that he would finally be able to talk with Harry.

"Thank you Ron." said Luna as she stood up and kissed him on his cheek to his embarrassment.

He turned a deep shade of red. Ron just mumbled something and moved to the other side of the compartment as far away from her as was possible in such a small room.

"So how come you didn't come to the Burrow, Harry? I was expecting you. There wasn't anyone there to talk to. Everyone has moved out of the house." whined Ron.

"I would have, but Hermione called me about a month ago and invited me to come to her house this year. I thought we were all going to meet at her house instead of at the Burrow this year since all your brothers are gone now." replied Harry.

"No, I didn't hear from her. The only thing I knew was Hermione wasn't coming this year. Ginny told me she had other plans. She didn't say anything to me that you were going to Hermione's house." whined Ron.

"It's a fantastic place. It's so large. It's near the coast. We swam in the ocean everyday. We walked along the beach collecting seashells and smoothed stones. The stones were as smooth and soft as Hermione's face." smiled Harry.

He wanted to say another part of her anatomy, but thought better of it. No need to get the girls excited and put Ron in an even more fouled mood than he already was.

"You touched her face?" wailed Ron. He was reaching a new low in the depression that he was in.

He began to sulk more. Harry must have spent a lot of time touching her lovely beautiful face. Maybe he even kissed her sweet pump lips a few times too. He was beginning to feel quite envious of Harry. He had begun to develop feelings for Hermione last spring that he didn't understand.

"What? You could hear the roar of the ocean in some of the larger seashells if you held them up to your ear." Harry said excitedly.

"So you and Hermione walked along the beach holding hands and sharing a kiss or two?" pouted Ron.

Luna and Ginny's ears perked up at the mention of sharing a kiss or two. They wanted to know if Harry and Hermione had gotten closer this summer and moved onto the next step. Harry and Hermione had been very vague so far.

"What? What are you talking about Ron? I was telling you about the stones and seashells Hermione and I found on the beach and collected." replied Harry.

While it was true that they did hold hands and shared more than a few kisses on their walks, it wasn't anyone else's business what they did together, especially concerning that particular subject.

"Never mind. I just missed you Harry. This is Seventh year. It's time that we have some fun for a change and hope that 'he who should not be named' stays out of our lives this year." whined Ron.

Hermione looked at Harry and gave him a look that said I told you so. She was hoping to spend more time alone with Harry. The two weeks that they spent together was supposed to let Harry know what she wanted and expected from him this year.

Just Harry and her, alone together with no Ronald. She was hoping that Ron would find himself a girl, maybe even Luna. She was a nice girl. She lived nearby to him and his family. They would be perfect for each other.

Despite her queer demeanor, when she set her mind to something she usually attained it. Hermione knew that Luna liked Ron, more than a little from what she had seen whenever Luna was alone with Ron.

Breaking through his shell would be difficult, but not impossible. He just needed to grow up a little and forget that he was the baby boy of the family. He was supposed to be a man.

"Sounds more like you missed male companionship someone than you missed Harry, Ron." smiled Hermione. "It must be so tough to have so much female attention all to yourself Ron. I would think most seventeen year old boys would be happy to get so much attention from the female gender."

The girls all shared a laugh at Ron's expense as he began to pout again since they were picking on him again. He wondered why he had even come back to the compartment. He should have stayed with the other guys and talked about the Quidditch matches he had seen this summer.

"I missed you too Ron, but I also missed seeing Hermione this summer. I've been to your home many times the past few years. This was a chance to see where Hermione lived and get to know her parents. Besides I think Hermione missed me a bit more than you did Ron." chuckled Harry.

"Really? How so Harry?" asked Luna.

"She was waiting outside on the porch to greet me when I arrived at her house. Ron wasn't even here waiting to greet me when I boarded the train." offered Harry as he gave them a wink and a smile.

"I told you that wasn't my fault. Luna was late. Ginny hid my stuff while I was gone." argued Ron.

"Hermione was excited to see me when I arrived. She ran over to greet me and gave me a big hug." smiled Harry.

"I kissed you too." added Hermione with a smile.

"I know Hermione, but that wouldn't be fair to Ron. He won't even kiss his mother. I don't think he's even kissed a girl before. Besides, I don't particularly want Ron to kiss me." laughed Harry.

"She kissed you?" Ron mumbled more to himself. He was very disappointed. Hermione hadn't greeted him with a hug never mind a kiss.

Luna saw the disappointed look on Ron's face when Hermione said she kissed Harry. She felt sorry for him since she suspected Ron had feelings for Hermione. She got up out of her seat and walked over to Ron.

She leaned over and gave him a semi passionate kiss on his lips that curled his hair. She felt Ron returning the kiss. He always did despite his protestations to the contrary. She bit his lip so that it swelled causing him to suck on it.

"Thank you Ron for coming over to my house to escort me back to your house." smiled Luna as she moved away.

Ron felt a little embarrassed. He had denied that he had been on his way over to her house to get her because she was causing them to be late, not because he was a gentleman. Why were they doing this to him?

Why couldn't they just leave him alone. He was going to be glad to be back at school with his friends and away from all the people who made his life miserable.

"Oh! How sweet. See Ron, I told you last year that girls liked you. All you have to do is do something nice for them. We like to show our gratitude to a gentleman." smiled Hermione.

"His first kiss and I got to see it." sighed Ginny.

"It's not my first kiss. It's not even the first time Luna has kissed me." sulked Ron.

"Ooh ....... !" teased Hermione and Ginny as they clapped their hands in glee.

Harry shook his head. When was Ron going to learn to keep his mouth shut when dealing with girls? They could smell blood likes sharks in the water would and attack you at your most vulnerable moment. It was best to say nothing, neither confirming nor denying their suspicions.

As far as he was concern if Hermione wanted to tell Luna and Ginny about the time they spent together, that was up to her. He wasn't ashamed about what they had done together. It had been a very pleasant and enjoyable experience. One that he hoped to experience again in the future.

"Who else have you kissed Ron?" asked Luna sounding a little disappointed.

"Have you been cheating on your wife already Ron?" teased Ginny.

"Ronald Weasley! Your mother told me that she raised her boys to be gentlemen." scolded Hermione in a mocking manner.

Ron got up in a huff and left the compartment again slamming the door on the way out.

"Did you really have to do that? You know how sensitive he is about being teased. That's all his older brothers ever did to him. You know what's going to happen now.

I'm going to have to listen to him complain about it for a week and a half about what you all did to him on the train. If I'm lucky he will stop crying about it in a month." moaned Harry.

"It's his own fault Harry. He sets himself up to be ridiculed. He opens his mouth and something stupid comes out." replied Ginny.

"Ginny, he's your brother. He's supposed to protect you. He's been taught not to belittle other people and yet you keep on belittling him because he won't defend himself.

You may think you're being funny, but the rest of us see you as being cruel. If you can't even be nice to your own brother, how can one expect you to be nice to someone else. It's why some of the guys you like won't ask you out." explained Harry.

"Harry, Ron is just being too sensitive. He needs to grow up a little and admit to what he does. We all thought that it was nice of Ron to go to Luna's house and get her. Why was he so ashame of doing something nice?

Maybe some of the guys might have teased him if they knew about it, but many of the girls would think that was very nice of him and appreciated what he had done. Maybe they would like him better instead of ignoring him." countered Hermione.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **_**The Blending 15**_

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

Summary: The most gifted witch of her generation with the most powerful young wizard. Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?

Author's note: From the beginning it appeared to me that these two young people were destined to be together. Of all the wizards Hermione could latch onto, Harry was the one. She is the most gifted witch of her generation. She would seek out an equally gifted wizard. It makes no sense for her to be with an idiot, clown, and total screw up that she has at least one major fight with and doesn't speak to for long periods of time.

part three I want to be with you

5 September

Gryffindor common area

A few days later things had begun to settle down. Ron was hanging with his friends and avoiding Luna like the plague. Harry told him he wasn't going to get in the middle of his problem with Luna and Ginny.

He would have to find a way to resolve his differences with them on his own. He would be there if he needed to talk, but he wasn't going to do anything. He also told Ron that he would be spending more time with Hermione.

Ron wasn't too happy to hear that. It meant he would be spending less time with Harry and that his chances of having a special relationship with Hermione would be nonexistent.

Hermione was in her favorite spot in the entire world. She was lying on the couch with her head in Harry's lap. He was stroking her beautiful long brown hair with his fingers. It was a nice sensation.

She was supposed to be reading one of her charm books, but instead she was thinking only about Harry. Lying there like this allowed her to feel connected to him, close to him. He was her best friend in the world.

She wasn't sure, but she thought that they were getting much closer, but she didn't know how he really felt about her. She loved him, she had since the first year they were together at Hogwarts.

She knew that Harry was the wizard that she was destined to be with. It was preordained. He was a famous and powerful young wizard and she was the most gifted witch at Hogwarts, maybe since time began.

She was unmatched in her abilities. Even though his parents were from the world of magic, he had been raised by muggles like she had. They belong to both worlds. He understood her and accepted her.

She wondered how he felt about her. She knew he had been attracted to other girls in the past. That was natural for any guy, but he had never acted on those attractions. He had always stayed with her. Why that was she didn't know.

Maybe it was because he felt comfortable with her and she didn't demand anything from him that he couldn't give. If anything she gave him more than she received since she understood everything while Harry struggled at times.

Unfortunately spending so much time with Harry also meant spending time with Ron on a regular basis too. He was always acting like an idiot. He always wondered why no one ever took him seriously.

Maybe it had something to do with him being lazy, ill informed about everything, and that he wouldn't listen to a word she told him.

He always seemed to have trouble learning how to do the simplest things, which she found very easy to do. She hoped that this year he would find himself a girl to woo so that she could spend more quality time alone with Harry.

She remembered back to their first year. She had read about a ceremony that bound a witch and wizard together. She was very excited about it. She had told Harry about the ceremony, but she had left out most of the important details, such as they would be married.

He agreed to humor her if she could find someone to perform it. She had gone to Professor McGonagall and asked her to conduct the ceremony for them. Professor McGonagall had found her request quite amusing for someone so young, she told her that witches and wizards couldn't get bonded until they came of age.

That left Hermione very disappointed. Fortunately for her Professor McGonagall decided to bend the rules just that one time since she was such a gifted student. She told Hermione that it was only ceremonial.

They weren't officially bonded. She conducted the ceremony bonding Harry and her together. She wrapped a special ceremonial wedding wrap around their joined hands. They spent the night together in one bed joined together as one.

Professor McGonagall was surprised that Harry had agreed to go along with it. Most boys that age were seldom interested in girls. Though she had to admit that Harry did seem to spend a lot of time with her.

Then again Harry didn't really know what the ceremony was all about. He was just being a good friend to Hermione. Professor McGonagall was surprised a few years later when Hermione wanted to renew their vows from the first ceremony.

Hermione was surprised that Professor McGonagall sent her to Professor Snape to conduct the renewal ceremony instead. She didn't think he liked her or Harry, but Professor Snape had found their story quite amusing when Professor McGonagall told him about it.

He thought they were perfect for each other. One who knew everything and the other, one who everyone thought was more than he was. He conducted the ceremony quite differently than Professor McGonagall.

Somehow it seemed more real and magical to her than the first ceremony. He conducted a more intricate version of the ceremony, which at one point included giving them a magic potion to drink. He also wrapped their joined hands together with a magical wedding ceremonial wrap.

She felt very differently after the ceremony. This time they spent three nights together in bed. The love she felt for Harry grew so much during this time together that her heart ached anytime she wasn't with him.

She wondered if the love she was feeling for Harry was real or had the potion that Professor Snape had given to them just enchanted her. She couldn't tell if Harry's feelings had change any at all.

He never said anything to her after the ceremony. He did seem different though. There were times they seemed closer. There was more physical intimacy between them. He still seemed to be interested in other girls, particularly Cho.

For some unknown reason she didn't understand why he was fascinated by her. She was more physically mature than she was at the time. There was also an exotic beauty to her since she was of Chinese descent.

Of course there were many other girls who were seeking his attention too, especially the Patil twins who smiled and gave him seductive looks whenever they passed by him. They were quite beautiful too in an exotic sort of way.

She smelled a familiar fragrance waffling to her nose. It must be one of the twins she thought. She looked up and saw Parvati walking into the common area and over to where she and Harry were lying.

She knew Parvati wasn't walking over to see her. They had never been good friends even during fifth year when they all were learning how to defend themselves against the dark forces. She never could understand why that was.

If Parvati really wanted to get closer to Harry, why wouldn't she try becoming her friend first? It would have made it easier for her to get Harry's attention and spend time with him.

She wondered if it had anything to do with her parents being muggles? Why should it matter after so many years who her parents were? Was Parvati jealous of her success at being the most gifted witch at Hogwarts?

No, that couldn't be it, Parvati was too silly. It must have something to do with her relationship with Harry. Parvati had always been interested in Harry, but was it because she liked him or was it because she craved the attention that his celebrity status gave him?

"Hi Harry!" greeted Parvati smiling.

Hermione sighed in disbelief as she got up from her comfortable spot. What kind of girl would flirt with a boy when he was comfortably entwined with another girl? She turned and gave Harry a hug and a kiss him on his lips. She wanted Parvati to know that Harry belonged to her.

"See you later Harry." she cooed before leaving to go to her room.

Parvati looked on with envy. She wished that she had that kind of relationship with Harry. She had been trying since fourth year to get his attention, but at that time Harry seemed to be more interested in Cho. That all changed in fifth year when Cho betrayed Harry and the DA.

She didn't really understand why Hermione, Harry, and Ron were always together. She had learned from her sister Padma that Ron like Hermione more than just a little. How she despised the rat toting twit. Didn't he have a clue about what girls wanted?

Hadn't he outgrown the need to hang out with Harry and find himself a girl to be with. She had hoped that he would finally act on his feelings and occupy more of Hermione attention this year thus freeing Harry so he could be with her.

It would be so much easier to be with Harry if Ron had Hermione's full attention and they weren't always with him. There would be many more opportunities to be with him. She was beginning to wonder if Ron even liked girls.

She had never seen Ron with any girls other than his sister and Hermione. Why was she thinking about that dimwitted idiot when she wanted to be with Harry?

Somehow she was beginning to believe that there was more than friendship between Harry and Hermione. No one else around here kissed each other whenever they departed.

"See you later Hermione." sighed Harry a little disappointedly at the lost of her touch. Their fingers had lingered for a few extra moments.

He wondered what Parvati wanted. Any interest that he might have had for her ended several years ago after the Tri Wizards Tournament Ball when she left him to spend the rest of the night dancing with other wizards instead of spending time talking to him and Ron.

He and Hermione were in a good place right now. He enjoyed the physical intimacy they were sharing whenever they were together. Now that connection was gone. He wondered what Parvati wanted.

"What's up Parvati?" asked an annoyed Harry.

"She hugged and kissed you." replied a shocked Parvati.

"She's been hugging me since First Year Parvati. It's what normal people do when they say good bye to each other." he explained.

"Normal people?" she questioned. It was a term she wasn't familiar with.

"You like to call them muggles." he replied wondering why she had never taken the time to learn more about the real world.

"They aren't normal, we are the normal ones, those belonging to wizard families." she argued.

"What have you been smoking Parvati? There are over six billion people in the world. I doubt very much if there are even one million wizards and witches. We're the freaks or at best, maybe we are advance human beings, but we aren't normal." he corrected her.

"She kissed you." she said changing the subject. She didn't want to argue with him.

"She's been doing that since fourth year. It's how normal people show affection." he explained. Even his uncle and aunt kissed from time to time.

"On the lips?" she said. She felt like crying.

Harry sighed wondering why they were having this conversation. It wasn't anyone's business what he and Hermione did together.

"She started doing that last year around Christmas time. I guess she was trying to show me how she feels about me. It's how normal people show someone that they love them." said Harry as a sudden realization crossed his mind. She loves him?

Parvati decided to change the subject and talk to Harry about the reason why she came over to see him. She didn't want to hear anything about Hermione and that she might love Harry.

"I was wondering if you would like to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend Harry." asked Parvati. She was tired of waiting for him to ask her out.

"I don't know. I was planning on taking a walk around the lake with Hermione. There's something I want to show her." replied Harry.

"Does it have to be this weekend Harry? I have wanted to spend some time with you away from Hogwarts, but Ron is always around. I haven't felt comfortable around him since he ignored Padma after he asked her to the ball several years ago." pleaded Parvati.

"I'm sorry about that. We didn't do a very good job at being your escorts that night. But in all fairness we didn't want to be there that night. We weren't ready to socialize with two beautiful young ladies at such a formal event.

Maybe if the professors had spent more time with us, teaching us how to dance, make small talk with young ladies, we might have been more comfortable being with you." replied Harry.

He had felt really bad about that night. He had asked them to join him and Ron. They had failed them when they had wanted to dance. Ron on the other hand didn't care one way or another except to ruin Hermione's evening.

Ron had really hurt her that night. Hermione had been asked to the Ball by an older wizard, a wizard who was well known as a world class Quidditch player. She was having a special night with Krum, dancing and being seen with him.

She was very happy and Ron had spoiled it for her. He had left her crying. He felt like boxing Ron's ears for being such a jerk. Ron had called Hermione a traitor, when all she had been was a young lady having a special evening with a man who appreciated her company.

"Are you ready to socialize now Harry?" asked Parvati hopefully.

Harry didn't know what to say. He thought he had told her that he was spending the day with Hermione. And after the realization that he had while talking with Parvati, he had some serious thinking to do.

Did Hermione love him? What did that mean? How would that affect their friendship? How did he really feel about her? Did he love her? Did he even know what love was? He had never experienced it before in his life.

And if she loved him and he loved her, how would that affect their relationship with Ron? Would he still want to hang out with them or would he find someone else to chum around with? But whom would he find?

Ron always hung around Hermione and him. Who would he hang around with now? There was always Dean and Neville. They screwed up as often as Ron did. Maybe he would find a girl of his own to be with.

"Harry!" cried Parvati.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else." replied Harry.

"You were thinking about her." sniffled Parvati as she turned and walked away crying.

Harry was a little surprised to see her crying. He knew she liked him on some level. She and her sister always said hello to him in a silly manner, but he hadn't realized that she liked him that much that she would cry just because he wouldn't spend a day with her in town.

That left him time to think about Hermione and their relationship. Did he love her as she appeared to love him? What did it all mean? What was he going to do?


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: **_**The Blending 15**_

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

Summary: The most gifted witch of her generation with the most powerful young wizard. Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?

Author's note: From the beginning it appeared to me that these two young people were destined to be together. Of all the wizards Hermione could latch onto, Harry was the one. She is the most gifted witch of her generation. She would seek out an equally gifted wizard. It makes no sense for her to be with an idiot, clown, and total screw up that she has at least one major fight with and doesn't speak to for long periods of time.

part four That's not what I want

10 September

classroom

A few days later Hermione was in a classroom with a few other girls. They had been listening to a lecture in their History of Witches class. The lecture was about a topic that she had never heard anything about before.

The topic of the lecture was called 'The Blending'. It was something that happened to young witches when they came of age during their Seventh Year. It was a time when a young witch blended with a young wizard and became as one.

She tried to think about what that actually meant. Was this the time for Harry and her to finally be married or to be bonded together? She tried to picture in her mind what the Vulcans of Star Trek lore used to do.

They used to do something called a mind meld, my thoughts to your thoughts, your thoughts to my thoughts. Our minds become as one. They had a psychic connection between each other after they became bond mates. Was that what was going to happen to them?

If she and Harry were to blend, would they become bond mates? Would her thoughts become a part of him and would his thoughts become a part of her? Would they always know where the other was? Would they know what the other was thinking? Did that mean that they would finally be married?

But was that even possible? She had gone through a bonding ritual twice already with Harry before. While they had been conducted differently, they were still very similar in fashion. This Blending Ceremony seemed to be something completely different.

But no matter what, she had to make sure that it was Harry that she was performing the Blending Ceremony with. She had spent the last six years of her life with him not to be with someone else now. She only wanted to be with Harry.

Gryffindor

Common area

Later that afternoon Hermione was in the common area with Harry and Ron. They were remembering a time in their fourth year. They had all gotten together at the Burrow to make the trip to the biggest Quidditch match of the year.

They had traveled through a portal for the first time to get there. They had stayed in a magical tent that reminded her of Doctor Who's Tardis. Everything was much bigger on the inside than it was on the outside.

Ron had been so excited to see the world famous Viktor Krum, the greatest Quidditch player in the world or so he said. Ron even bought a replica doll of Krum. But when Ron met Krum a few months later at Hogwarts, he hated Krum, he was considered the enemy. Why?

"Viktor took you to the Tri Wizards Ball that year. He was quite smitten with you Hermione." smiled Harry.

"He was a real gentleman unlike someone else I know. I won't say his name, however I will just look at him and whistle." replied Hermione looking at Ron and whistle. (It's what Archie Bunker used to say to the Meathead whenever he was annoyed with him)

"He was the enemy!" screeched Ron wondering why they were bringing this subject up again. It seemed all they did these days was dump on him.

"Right Ron, you were in love with him only a few months before. You kissed his replica doll every night before turning in for bed and you slept with him under your pillow." laughed Harry causing Ron's face to turn beet red.

"It was one of the best nights of my life until you started acting like a complete ass. You're lucky I didn't have my wand with me that night Ron. I would have turned you into a jackass." said Hermione as she was waving her wand back and forth in front of his nose causing Ron to shudder. If there was anyone who do it, Hermione was the one.

"I remember the week before Christmas you invited Viktor to come back to the common area to meet all his fans. Everyone we knew had gone to the match and had watched him catch the snitch. They all wanted to meet him." smiled Harry.

"Well, we know the reason why he really came and it had nothing to do with talking about Quidditch." snapped Ron.

"Ron!" shouted Hermione in disbelief. When was he going to grow up and stop acting like a spoil child?

"Well, you didn't see his face when he walked into the room and saw you and Harry lying on the couch tickling each other like two people in love. Everyone thought the two of you were going to start making out on the couch.

Your faces were so close together. I was surprised that he even stayed around and talked with everyone after he saw what the two of you were doing together." whined Ron.

"It wasn't my fault Ron! You're the one who started it. You're the one who dropped Harry's favorite candy on me and dared him to use only his mouth to pick them off me. You were the one who put the candy on my belly, my chest, then my ear, my forehead, my nose and finally my mouth.

Every time he touched me I started giggling which led him to start tickling me. I tried to tickle him back." replied Hermione.

"Well, Viktor was kind of upset. He thought you and Harry were together since most of the time whenever he saw you, you were happily engaged with Harry. He asked Harry about you once and Harry told him you two weren't a couple, just good friends. When he saw the way you two were that night, it just about killed him." argued Ron.

"I thought you didn't like him Ron. You kept on telling me that he was the enemy. I would have thought that you would have been quite happy that he was upset and didn't want to be with me anymore." replied Hermione smugly.

"It's hard to hate a man when his heart is breaking." replied Ron sullenly.

Hermione was confused. Was Ron talking about Viktor or himself. While Viktor might have been disappointed with what he saw that night, he was hardly heartbroken. They saw each other many times the rest of the year.

He even invited her to visit his home that summer. She hadn't gone only because she was taking a Biology class that summer. She thought it would help her with her spells.

"I don't know what you're talking about or where you get your silly ideas from Ron. Viktor and I spent many afternoons together the rest of the year. Maybe when you finally grow up Ron you will understand these things, but somehow I don't think that's going to happen for a long time." retorted Hermione.

Harry was wondering what was going on. The accusatory remarks were getting rather harsh and personal for some reason. Ginny had told him once that Ron had feelings for Hermione. He had been quite upset that year when Hermione was with Viktor.

Unfortunately for Ron, Hermione didn't share those same feelings for him. She never had. Ron was his friend and as such he was to be tolerated as best as one could for Ron could be a difficult person.

It was why they clashed at least once every year. Was it time for their yearly clash?

12 September

common area

A couple of days later Hermione was sitting in the common area reading from her charm book when she received a letter from Professor McGonagall. It was a notice telling her about the Blending Ceremony.

It would be taking place in a few days and that her partner for the Blending Ceremony would be Ronald Weasley. Ron! She wondered why in the world they would want her to blend with Ron.

She began crying when she started to think about what a future with him would be all about. She didn't like the picture she saw. At best it would be a life similar to the one Ron grew up with, two people working hard barely existing above the poverty level.

They would live in a rundown house like he currently did with no hopes of a better life in the future. She would probably kill him or he would leave her because she would demand something from him that he wouldn't be able to deliver.

She couldn't picture Ron being anything more than what he was now.

Ron was a classic underachiever. He lacked ambition and the drive to be anything more than what he was. As long as there was food on the table and a Quidditch match to watch, he would be happy.

While that was fine when you're a teenager with no cares in the world, it wasn't enough when you became an adult. She knew he would never do as well as his father. Percy had gone into the same line of work as his father. He was an overachiever.

Ron hated him. He never wanted to be like him, which meant anyone living with Ron would lead a mundane and depressing life.

She went to her room and started packing up all her things. She was sobbing so hard that she could hardly see what she was doing. Her roommates wondered what was wrong.

Why was Hermione packing up her stuff, they had only just started the new year a few days ago? They knew of nothing that could have caused her such anguish. In fact it seemed quite the opposite. They had never seen her so happy.

They knew it had something to do with Harry. They seemed to be much closer this year. They tried to get her to talk about it, but she wouldn't. There was no way she was going to spend the rest of her life with Ronald Weasley.

She would rather die than do so. She grabbed Crookshanks and her trunk and headed down through the common area to the front of the great hall of Hogwarts. She was going to miss being there. She had learned so much about herself.

She was going to miss being with Harry. She loved him so much. Why did they want her to be with Ron? Why? Why? Why? She was sobbing hard now. She was almost out the door when Professor McGonagall caught up to her.

One of the girls had gone to her and told her that Hermione had been crying and was leaving Hogwarts. She wondered why that was. Hermione was the most gifted young witch she had ever known.

Professor McGonagall saw the tears in Hermione's eyes and wondered what could have happened to cause her to be in such a state as this. She led Hermione to a small private room off the main hall where she could speak to her in private.

"What's wrong Ms Granger? Why are you crying? Why are you leaving Hogwarts?" asked McGonagall like a mother.

"I don't want to spend the rest of my life with Ronald Weasley." she wailed.

"I don't understand Ms Granger. Why would you be spending the rest of your life with Mr. Weasley? You're much too young to be thinking about such things like that. I thought we had that discussion a few years ago." questioned McGonagall.

It seemed that there was always one girl who was ahead of all the rest of the girls. For some reason they became drawn to a boy and wanted to be married to him. They were in love, but that wasn't possible because they didn't know what love was.

"I don't want to be blended with Ron and spend the rest of my life with him." she sobbed.

"You don't have to spend the rest of your life with him if you don't want to. That's not the purpose of the Blending Ceremony, Ms Granger." consoled McGonagall as she wrapped her arms around Hermione and pulled her close to her.

She wondered why there was always at least one witch who didn't listen completely to what the Blending Ceremony was about and what its purpose was.

"Then why do you want me to blend with him for?" she asked as her crying stopped.

"I guess I didn't do a good enough job explaining what the Blending Ceremony is all about or were you not paying attention Ms Granger? Were you daydreaming about Mr. Potter again?" smiled McGonagall.

She had seen them together this year. They seemed to be much closer than the year before. They looked like two young people in love. Hermione just sat there listening to Professor McGonagall.

It was true, she had stopped listening to what Professor McGonagall had been saying. She had started dreaming about what it would be like to be with Harry for the rest of her life.

"You want to know why we chose Mr. Weasley for you? Ideally both participants in the Blending Ceremony are supposed to gain something from the experience. We want it to be easy for you the first time. We wanted you to feel comfortable.

So we thought that maybe it would be nice to do it with someone you know and spend a lot of time with. You do spend most of your free time with him Ms Granger." explained McGonagall.

"That's not exactly true professor. I spend most of my free time with Harry. It just so happens that Ron likes to spend time with him too." corrected Hermione. Why did people thin she liked Ron?

"It's okay to have more than one friend Ms Granger. It's even okay to like more than one boy. Several years ago you liked Mr. Potter and Mr. Krum. It's even okay if more than one boy wants to vie for your attention. It's normal Ms Granger." explained McGonagall.

She remembered a long time ago when she was Hermione's age that she had more than a few young men vying for her attention.

"But getting back to the subject of Mr. Weasley. His parents feel that he is in need of direction, confidence, and the knowledge of what it takes to be successful. All his brothers have been successful, even Fred and George in their own very unique way.

While Ron has done okay here at Hogwarts, he has always felt inadequate when he is compared to any of his brothers. Since you have visited their home many times over the years, his parents have gotten to know you.

They were hoping that a blending with you might help him overcome his apparent deficiencies." explained McGonagall.

"He hasn't listened to anything I have had to say in six years, I don't think Blending with him is going to change that. Besides I don't think I want to know anything about how he thinks or what he really thinks about me.

In the real world we have television shows. They are designed to entertain us and inspire our imagination. They teach us that nothing is impossible. One of the genres is called Science Fiction.

It includes space travel where humans travel to distant worlds where they meet new people. One of those peoples have a ritual when it comes to mating. They call it a mind meld. Their minds become one. They can hear each other's thoughts.

Even when there is no mating involved, their thoughts become yours forever. While I don't know if this Blending is the same as their mind meld, I do know I do not want his thoughts to be a part of my mind." explained Hermione.

Professor McGonagall wasn't sure that she completely understood any of Hermione explanation about the muggles. Maybe there was something of value about their way of life that gave them some advantages.

Ms Granger surely was the most gifted witch she had ever taught. Her magical rating was the highest in recorded history at Hogwarts. Her aptitude was far superior than anyone since Professor Dumbledore to attend Hogwarts.

She had lived as a muggle for eleven years before attending Hogwarts. There must be something about their educational system that could be beneficial to them. Ms Granger had told her about taking summer classes that she thought would augment her studies here at Hogwarts.

"You don't have to Blend with Mr. Weasley, Ms Granger if you don't want to. As the witch with the highest magical rating you have the choice to Blend with anyone you wish to. If you have someone else in mind, that's okay.

Just remember Ms Granger, the Blending Ceremony isn't about finding your future husband. Do you think that there are many true couples here Ms Granger? Do you think any young witch is truly thinking about marrying Mr. Malfoy or one of his goons?

It is only an exercise like so many others that you have participated in over the last six years. There will be four more Blending before the year is over." conceded McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall could see that Hermione had appeared to have calm down sufficiently and that she should return to her room.

"Are you ready to go back upstairs Ms Granger? We really would hate to lose you over a simple misunderstanding." asked McGonagall.

"Yes Ma'am. I don't want to leave Hogwarts. I'd like to stay" she replied as Professor McGonagall led her back up to common area. She sent one of the other students to get one of the caretakers to bring Hermione's things back up the stairs to her room.

Hermione was feeling better. She didn't have to blend with Ron. She could be with Harry, the only man she ever wanted to be with.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: **_**The Blending 15**_

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

Summary: The most gifted witch of her generation with the most powerful young wizard. Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?

Author's note: From the beginning it appeared to me that these two young people were destined to be together. Of all the wizards Hermione could latch onto, Harry was the one. She is the most gifted witch of her generation. She would seek out an equally gifted wizard. It makes no sense for her to be with an idiot, clown, and total screw up that she has at least one major fight with and doesn't speak to for long periods of time.

part five The Blending Ceremony

16 September

the great hall

The day had come for the Blending Ceremony. It was a day of great trepidation for many of the students and much anticipated by their parents who hoped that they would all benefit from the experience.

Several members of the staff, family members, and past associates were in attendance. At one such table sat Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, Arthur Weasley, and Lucius Malfoy.

It was an interesting class this year. There were many exceptional students, but there were also many that didn't seem to care. There were pure bloods from well-connected families, half bloods, and a few muggle born students.

There had been discussions among those gathered about who should be accepted at Hogwarts. Albus had explained that if they accepted only pure blood and half blood witches and wizards, then the school would have to eventually close.

"So Minerva, do we know who Ms Granger is going to select for the Blending Ceremony?" asked Dumbledore.

"Why would anyone care about whom that mud blood chooses to blend with. We should be more concerned with keeping the lines of the pure bloods free of contamination from them." whined Malfoy.

"We don't use that term of disrespect here Lucius. If you really believe that pure bloods are better than everyone else, then you should have no reason to denigrate any of them. For the truly superior person endeavors to lift all others to their level of ability, they do not try to make themselves look better at someone else's expense." declared Dumbledore.

"Why? Don't you understand Lucius? Because she is the most gifted witch who has ever attended Hogwarts!" declared Lupin.

"Right!" snorted Malfoy disbelievingly.

"Do you remember your time here Lucius? Do you remember what your magical rating was when you were here and what it is now?" asked McGonagall.

"I think it was around 7750. I believe it was one of the highest ratings at the time. The last time I was tested my current rating was a little over 12000. So what?" replied Malfoy.

"The highest magical rating ever attained by a student at Hogwarts was 8100 by Albus himself. His current rating is slightly above 15000 and I myself have a rating of 14100.

Your ratings were and are currently one of the best for wizards of your generation. There aren't many who have done as well as you have. Your son could probably learn what it takes to be a great wizard from you if he took the time to care, but I don't think he does.

Ms Granger, on the other hand, is already the best witch or wizard to ever attend Hogwarts. She currently has a magical rating of 9875 and she still has a year of education to go. Are you beginning to understand why we're so excited about her Lucius? With the classes she is taking this year she will probably exceed 11000.

She's the most gifted witch to have ever been born using the current rating system. If she chooses to be blended with Potter for any length of time, she will probably attain a rating of 12000 to 13000." explained McGonagall.

"That's Impossible! No one is that smart or that good especially at her tender age." argued Malfoy.

"Her weaknesses are Potter's strengths. She surely would take advantage of that if they were to blend." replied McGonagall.

"It's impossible to attain such a rating at so young of age. It would mean she knew almost everything there is to know. That's not even possible for someone as young as seventeen." declared Malfoy.

"We all have our own interests Lucius. We tend to specialize in those areas and forget that there are a lot more other things to learn. We have the tendency to teach only the basics here at Hogwarts.

It's a general education. It's up to the individual to dwell further in an area of his choosing. From what I've learned from Ms Granger about the muggle world, for every interest one has there are classes that explore that interest.

It can take years of study to become proficient. Her parents spent eight years after the age of eighteen to become dentists." McGonagall tried to explain.

She could see that Malfoy was confused with what she was trying to cpnvey.

"Severus for instance teaches Potions here at Hogwarts. He teaches the students harder and more complex potions each year, but I seriously doubt he comes close to teaching them every potion he knows." continued McGonagall.

Snape nodded his head in agreement. Only the gifted students could be taught more in a short period of time. There were only a few with the interest in potions that wanted to learn more.

"Ms Granger has always gone well beyond the requirements of the class. She makes the rest of the class including Potter look like fools. One of her greatest strengths is taking what she has learned and applying it to problems that she and Potter have encountered during their time here.

She will spend hours in the library doing research, looking for ways to solve problems that she and Potter have encountered and in the process learning so much more than what we teach here." smiled McGonagall.

"Which by the way she has no problem letting everyone know how smart she is." moaned Snape.

"Which you love Severus. You wish all your students were more like Ms Granger. It's stimulating to have a student who challenges you to be a better teacher." chuckled Dumbledore.

"How old were you when you first learned how to make a polyjuice potion Lucius." asked Severus.

"I don't know, maybe sixteen or seventeen." Malfoy replied not seeing the point of this discussion.

"Ms Granger was only twelve years old when she first learned how. She went to the library and searched for a way to transform one's identity. She even went to the restricted area of the library to find what she was looking for.

She found all the ingredients she needed and made the polyjuice herself without any help from the staff or any of them finding out that she had made it. Your son still can't make it right." answered Snape.

"As for Potter he learned how to do a Patroneus when he was only thirteen. It was so powerful that it forced over a hundred Dementors to scatter and retreat from the Hogwarts property. He later taught over a hundred underage students how to perform one.

He found the Secret Chamber, when no one else except Tom Riddle could find it in over nine hundred years. He's beaten Lord Voldemort four times in six years. He won the Tri Wizards Tournament at the age of fourteen against much older and highly skilled competitors." informed Lupin.

"Ms Granger also helped you come up with a cure to my condition. Her muggle education and her parents came up with the missing ingredient to your potion, which allowed you to perfect it." added Lupin proudly.

"I still wouldn't want her to blend with my son." replied Lucius who wasn't convinced of her greatness.

"I don't think you have to worry about her blending with buttface. She doesn't like him anymore than he likes her. In fact many of the young witches don't even like him. She doesn't even want to blend with Weasley." smiled Snape.

McGonagall whispered to Snape that he had called Draco a buttface.

"Did I say that out loud. I'm sorry Lucius, it's what all the students here calls him. It's his pet name. He likes to get the other students into trouble while sucking up to the professors." apologized Snape.

It wasn't long before the selection process for the Blending Ceremony began. Professor McGonagall was going to announce the names of the witches. They would come up to the front the room and make their decision.

Hermione was the first name call. No one was surprised that she was the first one. They had all known after the first year that she would be the most gifted witch of them all. She seemed to know everything. She had never shown a weakness in being able to do something.

As expected Hermione chose Harry as the wizard she wanted to blend with. They were always together. Why wouldn't she want to blend with him.

There was so much she could offer him and she wanted to know how he really felt about her in return. This was the best way short of sitting down with him and having that discussion with him.

She had a feeling that Harry wouldn't want to have that discussion with her and if he did, how forthcoming would he really be? Would he be honest with her? Would she be disappointed if he didn't love her like she loved him?

Of course there were other things she could learn from him. For some reason he knew a lot more about fighting the Dark Arts than she did. Their previous professors seemed to like him enough to teach Harry more about them than they taught to the rest of the students.

That's not to say that they had good professors every year to teach them. It was one of the few areas where she believed their learning was deficient. There was always a new teacher every year. She was sure they should have learnt a lot more. Harry was living proof of that.

As the night wore on more and more witches chose the wizards that they wanted to blend with rather than the one that had been assigned to them in their notice. Several were disappointed that their original choices weren't available to them to blend with when their turn arrived.

Hermione's choice of Harry started a domino effect. The witch that had Harry had to choose someone else now. Some of the other witches saw that others weren't choosing the wizards that had been assigned to them so they decided to choose someone else too.

As the choosing of wizards was coming to an end, there weren't many choices left. Ron was one of the last ones to be chosen. Luna Lovegood chose him. She thought he was cute. Ron though thought she was crazy as a loon and wondered what he had done to be chosen by her.

Of course once again he was a victim of Harry's notoriety. Everyone was focus was on him and in association, Hermione. He was the forgotten one of the three again. Everyone had wondered whom Hermione would choose and who would choose Harry, but no one cared about choosing him.

He wondered why Hermione hadn't chosen him. Everyone had told him that he had been assigned to her. He did like her. He hadn't liked her at first. She was a royal pain when they first met.

She was always telling him what to do and how to do it. He was always wrong and she was always right. But after six years of friendship he liked her now, maybe even loved her.

At least there was one saving grace he thought, he had been chosen ahead of Malfoy. Only Crabble and Goyle were chosen after him. Malfoy really didn't care when he was chosen, but his father, Lucien Malfoy, was greatly upset.

The Malfoys were one of the great wizard families of the British Isles. It was an insult that any witch wouldn't want to choose to blend with his son. The others had told him that Draco wasn't well liked by the others, but he didn't care.

There were connections to be made. The Blending Ceremony was as good a place to start learning how to make the right choices and be friends with the right people.

The Blending Ceremony occurred in the reverse order of the selection process. The wizard would take the witch into his arms and she would take him in hers. Then they would begin to twirl around climaxing with a burst of energy as they blended together with only one personality left standing in the end.

The other would be absorbed into the one that was present. It wasn't surprising that both Malfoy and Ron absorbed their chosen witches. Both had strong personality that would be hard to mask. Besides which neither one was thrilled with the witches that chose them.

Malfoy's blending lasted only a few hours. By the next morning when he woke up he had broken the connection between himself and his witch. Ron's blending had lasted a couple of days, not because he wanted it to, but because Luna was infatuated with his convoluted thought process that she wouldn't let him go until she had a chance to study him more closely.

It seemed that Ron held low opinions about anyone who wasn't in his close knit group of friends and those who thought differently from him. He also had low self-esteem when it came to dealing with the female sex.

It was easier for him to make fun of them instead of getting to know them. With her help he learned from her that the young witches actually did liked him. They liked his sense of humor, that he was tall, and they liked his fiery red hair.

He also learned that there was a method behind her thought process. That she had a sense of humor equal to his own though he still wasn't sure he wanted to associate with her. She wasn't afraid to be herself. She didn't believe that conformity was necessary better.

On and on the Blending Ceremony went as the glow from the Blending varied from blue to green to even red. The glow was like a soft flame with an average height of the eight to ten feet.

But when Hermione and Harry's turn finally came to blend, it was very different as there was more than one color present and it kept on changing from one color to another like a kaleidoscope as it grew higher and intensified.

The height of the flame grew to nearly thirty feet high. It wasn't a soft glow like the others, but strong and vibrant. Never before had anyone seen such a flame. It seemed as though their Blending would never end.

All the professors including Dumbledore wondered what it meant. Was this the perfect union of two souls? What would be the outcome of their Blending? They knew Harry was a wizard ahead of his time. He would be very powerful some day. They knew that someday he would exceed even Dumbledore.

And Hermione was the most gifted young witch to have ever attended Hogwarts. Her magical rating far exceeded anyone during their time at Hogwarts and she still had a year to go.

What was the possible outcome of their Blending? Was it possible that Hermione would become the youngest witch or wizard to attain a rating of twelve thousand even before she left Hogwarts? Would Harry be far behind?

No one had any answers to the questions that were being asked. And what if they did marry as had been rumored for many years. What would their children be like? Would it be possible that they would be even more gifted than their parents?

It took much longer for their Blending to be completed. It lasted more than ten minutes in all. When it was completed they were surprised to see that it was Hermione who was standing there, not Harry. She had gained in stature, nearly three inches in height.

She also became the most beautiful witch anyone had ever seen. Her beauty was intoxicating and all consuming. No one could take their eyes from her, not even Snape. Hermione was surprised to see everyone looking at her and began to wonder what was wrong.

Did she look like a freak? She hoped not. She felt better than she ever felt before. There was warm fuzzy feeling throughout her body. It was if Harry's arms were wrapped around her. She felt very powerful. There was nothing she couldn't do.

Professor McGonagall came over to her to reassure her that there was nothing wrong. It was just that everyone thought Harry would be standing there, not her. She also told Hermione that she looked beautiful, that everyone there were in awe of her.

She also told her about her Blending, that it had been very special. Never before had a Blending been as beautiful and amazing as hers and Harry's. There were many colors and the flames had reached thirty feet.

When Hermione had asked her what that meant, Professor McGonagall shrugged her shoulder, she couldn't tell her anything. It had never happened before. They didn't know. It was suspected that since she was the most gifted student to ever attend Hogwarts that any Blending she undertook would be very special.


	6. Chapter 6

**Title: **_**The Blending 15**_

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

Summary: The most gifted witch of her generation with the most powerful young wizard. Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?

Author's note: From the beginning it appeared to me that these two young people were destined to be together. Of all the wizards Hermione could latch onto, Harry was the one. She is the most gifted witch of her generation. She would seek out an equally gifted wizard. It makes no sense for her to be with an idiot, clown, and total screw up that she has at least one major fight with and doesn't speak to for long periods of time.

part six Unexpected results

15 October

It had been a month since the Blending Ceremony took place and Ron was still quite upset that Hermione had chosen Harry to blend with and not him. To make matters even worse Harry was still blended with Hermione.

For six years whenever things weren't going right or he had a personal problem he always had Harry there to commiserate with about whatever his troubles were, especially when he was fighting with Hermione. They were his two closest friends.

In all the years that they had been together Ron never needed Harry more than he did now, but he wasn't around for him to talk to, only Hermione was there and he didn't feel like talking with her right now. He had to find a way to work out things on his own.

He thought back to last month when he had received a notice that he was to be blended with Hermione. He had told some of other guys about it when they were sitting around drinking, playing cards, and talking about the Blending Ceremony.

He wasn't exactly excited about the event. He had the same feeling of anxiety that he had before he attended his first formal ball when he was only fourteen. The thought of being combined with someone else scared the stuffing out of him.

He was pleased that at least it would be with someone he knew, though being blended with Hermione was a very frightening prospect. She was so gifted. Her mind contained so much knowledge.

How would he be able to be connected with her and be able to function after the blending? Would he even be able to think about something without her mind taking over? Who would be the one left standing after the blending?

Would he have been okay if it was her? Would he be resentful of her after they separated? He didn't know when it happened, but he had developed feelings for her. He didn't know if it was love.

Maybe it was because she was always around and he felt quite comfortable talking with her. Maybe it was because she had helped him a lot over the years when he couldn't do the assignments on his own.

He wasn't sure, but he might even be in love with her. Did he even want her to know how he felt about her? But like always in the end what he might have wanted or didn't want didn't matter. He was cast aside once again and forgotten like always.

She had embarrassed him when she chose Harry instead of him. While he might agree that on some level Hermione might liked Harry more than she liked him, they were still friends. She had come to the Burrow every summer for four or five years.

He couldn't remember which summer was the first year she came. Was it before or after she met Ginny his sister? He wondered why Hermione hadn't honored the staff's decision to blend with him.

What had he done to cause her to choose Harry instead and not him? Why didn't she like him? He thought they were good friends. They were supposed to be blended. She would have found out how he felt about her. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

Maybe she had feelings for him too that she was afraid to express. They could have talked about how they felt. Maybe they could have been together. Maybe he would have been kissing Hermione instead of being kissed by Luna.

Of course it was impossible to talk about all that with Harry, he wasn't there to talk to. He was still blended with Hermione. Even if he was talking to Harry, Hermione would still be there listening to what he was saying and have to interject.

He didn't feel comfortable talking it over with her. He was afraid of what she would say if he told her how he felt about her. Then again Hermione had told him that Harry was always there to talk to if he needed him.

Harry was always listening when he was needed. He would be able to hear Ron and talk to him. Only he would be hearing Hermione's voice when he talked. But how could he talk to Harry about Hermione when she was looking back at him.

If Harry could hear him, why wouldn't Hermione be able to hear him too? Some of the things he wanted to talk to Harry about he wouldn't want Hermione to hear. What was he supposed to do?

So far he had been ignoring her and trying to stay away from her. He couldn't be with her after what she had done, especially not the way he felt about her. And then there was the way she looked now. She was so beautiful.

"Ron! We need to have a talk. What's wrong with you?" asked Hermione bringing Ron out of his stupor.

"Nothing!" replied Ron anally. He was in no mood to talk with her. Nothing good would come of it. He was sure of that. He could hear the tone in her voice. She was upset with him.

"Ron! You haven't spoken a word to me all week. Harry is concerned about you. He wants to know what's wrong." prompted Hermione. She wondered why Ron was being so anal.

"Aren't you concerned?" Ron mumbled. "I can't talk to Harry. I haven't seen him on a month. He's my best friend."

"I'm your friend too Ron." said Hermione in a voice trying to show she cared.

"Are you? If you were my friend, why did you embarrass me last month? You made me look like an idiot. You were supposed to select me for the Blending, not Harry." whined Ron.

"I wanted to blend with Harry. Why should that be a surprise to you Ron? You know that I have wanted to be with Harry since first year. We've been together now for six years. You're his friend you know that, you're my friend too. And how did I make you look like a moron Ron?" asked Hermione a little confused.

"You were supposed to choose me, everyone knew that. And when you didn't choose me I became a laughing stock. I went from being the first one to be chosen to not being selected until near the very end by Luna." whined Ron.

"It's not my fault that you have alienated the entire female gender here at Hogwarts. You humiliated Padma at the Tri Wizards Ball three years ago, which in turned humiliated Parvati because she told her sister you were a nice guy.

All you had to do was dance a few dances with her to make her feel wanted and appreciated, but you did you? No, of course not, God forbid the great Ronald Weasley do something nice for someone else. Why should he make an effort to make someone else happy when he wasn't?

Your piss poor attitude affected Harry and Parvati. Since you didn't want to dance, Harry felt obligated to stay with you instead of dancing with her. He sat there with you most of the night talking instead of having a good time with Parvati. You made him look like an ass.

That caused Parvati to leave him and find someone else to give her the attention she wanted and deserved on that special night. Would it really have hurt you to dance a couple of dances with Padma, to show her that she was special if only for one night?

Of course we won't mention that you spoiled the best night of my life just because you wanted to be anal-retentive. Girls talk about these things Ron. It's how we learn whom the good guys are and who to stay away from.

You became one of the guys to stay away from after that night. You ruined Parvati, Padma, and my night. You couldn't be trusted. And besides Ron, when have you ever made an effort to be sociable with any of them.

They don't know you Ron. They don't know what a good guy you can be. If they knew you Ron, I'm sure many of them would have selected you if given the opportunity." argued Hermione.

"It was still your fault. Once you selected Harry everyone else started selecting other guys, guys they wanted, not the one with whom they were supposed to blend with." whined Ron.

"How would you know anything about this Ron? How would anyone know who was supposed to be chosen by whom? I didn't tell anyone that I was given your name. I didn't tell anyone I was choosing Harry.

When I talked with Professor McGonagall she told me I could choose anyone I wanted. No one knew who I was going choose. That leaves only you Ron. You told everybody I was going to choose you and you ended up disappointed when I didn't.

Did you ever talk to me about who I was going to choose or why I chose Harry? And you wondered why I didn't want to choose you. You can't keep your mouth shut about something so important.

You never speak up in class when you should, but you can tell everyone that I'm going to choose you. You need to grow up and become a man Ron. You're not eleven years old anymore. You need to take responsibility for your actions when you screw up instead of blaming everyone else.

You're an embarrassment to your friends. Why would I want to choose someone who couldn't stay blended more than three days to a very warm and loving friend? You could have learned something about yourself and being with a girl Ron.

You could have learned how to satisfy and make them happy? You could have learned how to show them a good time? And maybe even learn a little something about love too, but instead you didn't care about what her needs were or her feelings did you Ron? It was all about you as always.

The poor little boy with five older brothers who always picked on him, who always went crying to his mother instead of learning how to stand up to them. He's the one who fails to see his full potential because he's afraid to try to do his best.

He afraid to fail. It's so easy to be Harry's friend because no one expects anything from you. You'll always try to get by being Harry's friend instead of being your own man and doing things for yourself." counseled Hermione.

Ron was upset to hear Hermione chastising him about what a loser he was. He had hoped to have a conversation with Hermione about how he felt about her and hoped that he would feel better. But like always what he wanted was not to be.

It was one thing to feel like a loser because people always treated him that way and it another thing to be told that you were a loser by a person that you cared so much about. She told him he was a loser, not worth knowing.

He was an insignificant pimple on the backside of an ass that no one cared about. Why did he even think that she cared about him? How could he have loved someone who had such a low opinion of him?

If that was the way she felt about him then he wouldn't bother her anymore. He would stay as far away from her as was possible. He didn't need to hang out with someone who didn't want him around.

"What a blimey joke! It's always about you and Harry. I'm always the third wheel, totally neglected and forgotten. Harry is always the hero and you're always the smart one who helps him solve the problem.

And poor Ron, well he's just there along for the ride. He didn't do anything. He didn't help at all. He's just their friend. He's not capable of doing anything right. He's just a stupid clown. Once again it's you and Harry.

You're the special ones. Your flame was thirty feet high and glowed in so many different colors. Once again I was forgotten by everyone. I didn't exist. I was just an afterthought when Malfoy was chosen at the end.

If that's what you want, so be it. I won't bother you again. I know when I'm not wanted." whined Ron and off he went in a huff leaving her behind.

He had tears in his eyes. He hated feeling this way. It was bad enough that his older brothers always made fun of him and belittled everything he ever did, but to have a friend he thought so highly of and maybe even love to think so little of him was unbearable.

If she didn't want him to be a part of her life then he wouldn't be. He didn't want to be with someone who didn't want to be with him. There were other people he could hang with. He did have other friends.

Hermione shook her head in disbelief. She didn't understand why Ron always blamed her whenever things didn't go well for him. No matter how hard she tried to help him, it wasn't appreciated.

He would always find a way to blame her. He would go off and pout. Sooner or later he would come back when he was ready.

There was at least one thing she was sure of, until Ron decided to be civil again, her life would be much simpler and quieter. She still had Harry. Harry was all she really needed.

"I tried to talk to him Harry, but he's still upset about the Blending Ceremony. Why can't he understand that I wanted to be with you? What would there be for me to gain if I had blended with him?" wailed Hermione.

"I think it was his pride that was hurt. I guess one of the problems when you're a really good friend with only a couple of people, you spend all your time with them instead of learning how to be friends with others.

We both know everyone here in Gryffindor, but how many of them are we really friends with. We don't hang out with many of them a lot. Ron is feeling lost because our little group dynamic is all screw up.

He is the one who is feeling left out even though I am the one who is out of the loop. He likes you more than he lets on." replied Harry.

"That was one of the things I was afraid of Harry, getting stuck with him for the rest of my life. He has no ambition other than watching Quidditch Matches and eating. He'll never amount to anything because he doesn't care about anything.

He's afraid to try and fail. He'll never do better than his father and I just can't live that way. I deserve the best that life has to offer. I will not settle for someone like Ron." whined Hermione.

"I know you're right Hermione, but did you have to put him down like that? You really hurt him." replied Harry.

"I didn't want to Harry. I was trying to find out what was wrong, but instead he wanted to blame me because no one likes him. He never talks to any of the other girls. There are more than a few who would like to get to know him. They think he's cute, but his attitude sucks most of the time.

Look at the way he deals with Luna. She might be a little bit off, but she's a wonderful and caring person. She could have been good for him if he gave her a chance. But none of the girls are good enough for him." argued Hermione.

"I'm a little surprised that you don't have more friends Hermione." observed Harry.

"It's hard to have many close friends Harry. It would be hard to give them all the time they deserve. I like spending my time with you Harry. And when I'm not with you I spend a lot of time in the library.

That doesn't leave much time for everyone else, but I do make time for anyone who needs my help. I have help most of them at one time or another. Some of our professors don't have a lot of patience with the slower learners." replied Hermione.


	7. Chapter 7

**Title: **_**The Blending 15**_

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

Summary: The most gifted witch of her generation with the most powerful young wizard. Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?

Author's note: From the beginning it appeared to me that these two young people were destined to be together. Of all the wizards Hermione could latch onto, Harry was the one. She is the most gifted witch of her generation. She would seek out an equally gifted wizard. It makes no sense for her to be with an idiot, clown, and total screw up that she has at least one major fight with and doesn't speak to for long periods of time.

part seven Time of reflection

26 November

Over the next six weeks Ron didn't talk with Hermione. The only time he saw her was when they were in classes together. Then he tried to sit as far away from her as possible. If she was in the common area he went to his room.

It bothered her at first that he was being so childish, but eventually she didn't care anymore. She was happy with the decision she had made and felt vindicated for not choosing Ron.

She spent more time with her other friends like Luna, Ginny, and Neville. They appreciated spending more time with her and that she helped them with their class work. She made it easier for them to learn and understand their lessons.

She went to a few Quidditch matches even though she wasn't as interest in seeing them since Harry wasn't playing. But she also knew that Harry missed playing Quidditch. It had been a big part of his life since he came to Hogwarts.

15 December

It had been three months since the Blending Ceremony took place. There would be another one after the first of the year, but the staff was becoming quite concerned about Hermione and Harry.

They were still blended together after three months which was highly unusual. The Blending usually lasted only a two or three weeks. Everyone else had returned to their normal state by then except for Hermione and Harry.

For reasons unknown to all of the staff they were still blended as one. There were many speculations from Harry hiding from the world to Hermione's compulsive and dominating personality.

Dumbledore and McGonagall thought it was more likely a byproduct of the unusual flame that was generated when they were blended together that night. It might have had been a proclivity of what was to come.

The flame had been many different colors, it was over thirty feet high, and it burned for more than ten minutes, much longer than usual. What did it all mean? They didn't know. Was it because of Hermione's high magical rating?

Could Harry's knowledge of fighting the Dark Arts be a factor? Could it be that they both had so much to offer each other and they were willing to learn, was that the cause of them staying together so much longer?

They both were very special young people. She was the most gifted young witch ever. He was a powerful young wizard. The Blending had proven that their union was indeed special. But what were they going to do now?

They couldn't stay that way forever. It was time for them to separate and become themselves again. Ideally they should be able do so on their own, but if they couldn't or wouldn't separate, then it was time for them to take some form of action.

Professor Snape asked Hermione to stay after class where they were joined by Professor McGonagall.

"It's time Ms Granger for you and Mr. Potter to return back to normal. You shouldn't still be blended together. The Blending is only supposed to last a few weeks, not three months." declared McGonagall.

"I don't know why we're still blended together professor, maybe it's because we're in love." replied Hermione innocently.

"Nonsense girl, there have been other witches and wizards who were in love before. None of them ever stayed together for more than three weeks." argued McGonagall.

"Were they in love for six years, since the first year they met? You did say that that the flame burned much higher and longer than ever before. Maybe being in love for so long caused the different colors and the height of the flame." pondered Hermione.

"Not likely, first I doubt very much that you and Potter have been in love for six years though I might agree that you have shared a special relationship since you first met. You had us conduct a special bonding ceremony twice before.

But it's more likely the combination of you being a gifted young witch ever and Potter being a powerful young wizard for his age." conceded McGonagall.

"Harry says his father and mother were in love for many years before they were married." said Hermione hoping to show them that their love for each other wasn't unique, which only caused Snape to laugh.

"Potter is living under a false assumption then Ms Granger. I knew his mother Lily and her sister Petunia long before she came to Hogwarts. She was like you Ms Granger, born to muggle parents. I had known her since she was six years old.

Her sister Petunia wanted to come to Hogwarts too. She begged the headmaster to let her attend, but she wasn't a witch. Lily and I came here together. We even had the same type of relationship as you and Potter have.

We were very close until six year when our paths began to diverge as I became more infatuated with the Dark Arts. She wasn't happy with the direction I had chosen and it was at that time she first became friends with James Potter.

She never cared very much for him before then. She thought he was an arrogant piss ant as did many of us. He was a lot more like your young Malfoy. He thought he was better than everyone." Snape educated her to the harsh reality of James and Lilly Potter.

"Severus, there's no need for that language. We're here to help them to separate not to upset them." admonished McGonagall.

"Sorry Minerva, but Potter needs to hear the truth. His parents only got together their last year at Hogwarts. They were only married for two years before they died. It was his father's arrogance that caused him to get killed by the Dark Lord.

The Dark Lord wasn't supposed to kill your mother Potter. He was there to kill you. I had pleaded with him not to kill your mother because she was a dear friend of mine. He had agreed not to kill her.

The prophecy was the reason I believe he wanted to kill you Potter. It was why your mother was killed in the end. So you see Ms Granger, your relationship with Potter is hardly unique. It's not the first one of its kind and I'm sure it won't be the last one either." concluded Snape.

"I'll tell you what Ms Granger, it's ten days before Christmas, if you can separate yourself from Mr. Potter, we'll let you have a Christmas wedding with Harry if that is your wish." offered McGonagall.

She thought it was their need to be loved by someone that was keeping them blended together. If they were allowed to marry, then there would be no further need for them to be blended.

Hermione walked quickly back to the common area with dreams of a Christmas wedding and the gown she was going to wear. It wasn't long before she had made it back to Gryffindor common area and back to her room.

She walked pass Ron who had been talking to his sister Ginny about what they were going to do when winter break came. They wondered how many of their brothers would be there when they got home.

His head dropped in embarrassment when he saw Hermione. Ginny had caught him staring at Hermione with his tongue hanging out like a dog when she walked in. He was beginning to drool.

It had been a long time since Ron and Hermione really talked to each other. He had been hurt with her decision not to blend with him and without Harry there as a buffer he didn't know what to say to her.

She had made her decision to be with Harry and not him. Also he would get embarrassed as he got tongue tie for some reason every time he tried to talk to her. They had been good friends before.

He wondered what had happened to change all that. Sure he had been resentful, but that wasn't the reason he stopped talking to her. All he knew it was getting harder and harder to even say hello to her.

He still couldn't believe how beautiful she had become. She had become the most beautiful witch he had ever seen. Maybe she was right not to have blended with him if he couldn't talk to her without Harry being present.

"Hi Hermione!" he managed to eek out as she walked by.

"Hi Ron! Hi Ginny!" she replied happily as she walked on by them on the way to her room.

"You ..... look ..... nice." he stuttered.

"You look happy Hermione, what's up?" asked Ginny. She had never seen Hermione like this. She seemed to be so happy.

"Thank you, ..... I'm getting married!" she sang out as she went up the stairs to her room.

Ron and Ginny looked at each other, puzzled. Who was she marrying? She was supposed to be in love with Harry or so they all thought. It was why Harry wasn't around anymore, it was why they were still blended. They wondered what Harry would think about Hermione getting married to someone else.

Meanwhile during this time Harry's mind was going a thousand miles an hour. He had spent the last three months in silent bliss communicating with Hermione nonverbally with their minds. They had gotten much closer.

It was like they were Vulcans and their minds were connected together. His thoughts were her thoughts. Her thoughts were his thoughts. Their minds were as one. They knew each other so much better now.

He knew how much she loved him now and his feelings for her had grown to the point where he thought he was in love with her too, but to get marry as a reward for finally separating from each other after three months?

He wasn't too sure about that. They were only seventeen. Well she was almost eighteen. Sure in the wizard world they had come of age unlike the real world where the age was eighteen. Even then eighteen was much too young to marry.

Sure they were quite intelligent for their age and very successful at school, but they had led sheltered lives. What did they know about being adults and the problems associated with being on their own in the real world?

He wondered if Hermione had that much power and control over them and if that was the reason why they were still blended? Was it that important to her that they were still blended as one? He would have spent most of his time with her even if they weren't blended.

He had spent a lot of time with her over the last six years except for when she had other classes, when he had Quidditch, or when she was studying in the library. He had given up so much the last three months.

He missed spending time with Ron and his other friends. He missed playing Quidditch this year. He missed talking about guy stuff. He missed spending time with his friends.

One of the things he realized during this time was that Hermione didn't have many friends other than him and Ron. She didn't spend much time with them either. At least he had thought that Ron was her friend.

It seemed though without him being there with them, they didn't have enough in common to keep their friendship going. Was he that important to them being friends or were they his friends who tolerated the other to be with him?

Hermione walked into her room and went over to her desk to put her book bag down. She took one step towards her bed to change for dinner when she suddenly felt lightheaded and dizzy. Her head began spinning. There was a flash of light.

Luna watched as Hermione walk into the room and put her backpack down on her desk. Hermione was walking over to her bed when she saw Hermione putting her hands to her head. She thought Hermione was going to faint and fall.

She began to move towards her when ..... what she saw scared her. It seemed to her that Hermione had burst into flames. It was a beautiful deep shade of blue and then a deep rich green color. It caused her to fall back onto her bed.

A few minutes later she saw Hermione reappear and ..... then Harry was standing behind her holding her in his arms. Harry was standing there! Harry was back! She jumped out of her bed and ran over to them.

She wondered if they were okay. They hadn't said anything since they separated. They weren't only one anymore. They were two people, two separate souls again.

"Hermione! Are you alright? Harry! You're back!" cried out Luna.

Hermione straighten up. She felt oddly different. What had just happened? She didn't feel complete anymore, a part of her seemed to be missing. Did she just hear Luna say Harry was back? Was that why she felt that a part of her soul was gone?

She felt someone holding her. She turned around in his arms and saw Harry standing there in front of her. Her Harry was back in the world again. She moved closer to him and gave him a big hug. She didn't want to let him go. She looked up to gaze into his eyes before kissing him.

"Are you okay Harry?" murmured Hermione. She hung onto him tightly, she was still feeling a little lightheaded and off balance.

"Yeah, I guess so. It's been so long since I've been myself. My sea legs feel a little weak. How about you? You look like you're ready to pass out." asked Harry with a great deal of concern. She looked so beautiful to him.

"I'm a little lightheaded. I just lost half of who I was." she smiled. "But I should be okay in a few minutes."

"I've missed you Harry. Everyone has missed you. Everyone will be so happy to hear that you're back with us." said Luna in her beautiful melancholy voice.

"Don't say anything yet Luna. Let it be a surprise to them when we see everyone at dinner." smiled Harry.

"You gotten so beautiful Hermione, when did all this happen?" asked Harry as he took her into his arms once again.

"When we became as one. I don't know why it happened, but it did. I grew three inches taller too." she whispered to him.

"I must have grown too because you still only come up to the tip of my nose." smiled Harry before sharing another kiss with her.

"I love you Harry." said Hermione.

Somehow it seemed different, more real to hear her actually say it, rather than feel it through her thoughts. It was actually pretty nice. It gave him a warm fuzzy feeling that radiated throughout his body.

"I love you too." replied Harry as Luna watched them with satisfaction that her two friends were once again whole and happy.

"Come on guys, let's go to dinner, I'm hungry." declared Luna as she pulled them apart and dragged them along with her. She knew if she didn't they would stay there in each other's arm for the next few hours or even days.


	8. Chapter 8

**Title: **_**The Blending 15**_

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

Summary: The most gifted witch of her generation with the most powerful young wizard. Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?

Author's note: From the beginning it appeared to me that these two young people were destined to be together. Of all the wizards Hermione could latch onto, Harry was the one. She is the most gifted witch of her generation. She would seek out an equally gifted wizard. It makes no sense for her to be with an idiot, clown, and total screw up that she has at least one major fight with and doesn't speak to for long periods of time.

part eight Welcome back Harry

They walked through the common area quietly before drawing the attention of everyone who was there. It had been a long time since anyone had seen Harry or even talked to him.

He had always been a favorite of everyone with his quiet demeanor and superior accomplishments starting when he was only a first year.

They all gathered around him to welcome him back when they saw him standing there in the room. They asked him how he was and why had he and Hermione now finally decided to separate? What did it mean? Were they still together?

"Welcome back Harry, It's good to see you!" exclaimed Dean.

"Does this mean that you and Hermione are no longer together?" asked Parvati hoping once again that she might be able to be with him.

"It's good to see all of you once again. The staff here at Hogwarts thought it was time for us to be our own person again. Besides it's Christmas time, a time when dreams of getting what you want most in life comes true." replied Harry as he wrapped his arm around Hermione and drew her closer to him letting Parvati know that Hermione was still his girl.

"Hermione and I have been together in a manner which no one else can imagine. It has been a wonderful experience, but now it's time for us to be together like two normal people who care very deeply for one another.

We need some time to talk about what we're going do and what the future holds for us. When we have figured it all out we'll let you all know. It's good to be back and I look forward to seeing and talking to everyone." smiled Harry.

If there was one thing he didn't miss, it was being the center of attention especially when he hadn't done anything to deserve it. He just wanted to be like everyone else. Just enjoy life one day at a time.

They all decided to go with Harry and Hermione to the great hall where dinner was being served. They went in first so that Harry and Hermione could make their grand entrance. When Harry and Hermione walked into the dining hall a few minutes later it was to a standing ovation.

Harry had pulled Hermione close to him, so close that she was actually leaning into him as they walk along. The Gryffindor table all stood up and clapped to welcome Harry back. Soon Hufflenpuff and Ravenclaw had followed suit.

At the staff's table they were all surprised to see Harry walking into the hall with Hermione snuggled up very close to him. Maybe Hermione was right about them being in love and they had gotten too old to understand what young love was all about.

After dinner Dumbledore asked Harry to join him, Snape, and McGonagall in his office. There was a lot he wanted to know and to understand. Harry had been blended with another human being for three months. He had been isolated from everyone he knew.

They wanted to know what that experience was like with only Hermione to communicate with. What was his perception of time while he was blended? How was he feeling now that he was back? Why had they suddenly disengaged from themselves now after being together for so long?

"How are you doing Harry? We were quite surprised to see you at dinner tonight especially since Ms Granger couldn't tell us why you both were still together." observed Dumbledore.

"I'm doing okay Sir. It was a nice peaceful experience. I learned a lot more about Hermione than I thought I knew. She is a very loving and caring person. It surprised me though that she doesn't have more friends." replied Harry.

Snape snorted in disbelief. "People don't like it when someone flaunts their intelligence. It makes them feel stupid. Ms Granger was exceptional in just about every subject that she has endeavored in. Hardly something that others would feel good about."

"Why are you suddenly here Potter? I thought you couldn't disengaged from each other." asked McGonagall

"As you know she loves me very much and I have grown to love her too. I think it had something to do with you promising her a wedding. You should have consulted with me before promising her something you have no intentions in providing." retorted Harry.

"If you want to get marry Harry, we won't stand in your way. We thought the main reason that you hadn't disengaged from each other had something to do with not wanting to be alone and being loved.

We thought that if we offered her an alternative then it might help her disengage from you. We only want what's best for all our students." responded McGonagall.

"When did it happen Harry? Where were you? What were you thinking about?" asked Dumbledore curiously.

He wasn't interested in any talks about marriage. They had an unique experience here that needed be explored. Harry and Ms Granger had been blended for more than three months. What was it like?

"Hermione had just returned to her room when she suddenly got dizzy, her head was spinning. She was thinking about what her wedding gown was going to look like and I was wondering why no one had bothered to ask me if I wanted to get married." replied Harry.

"So you could hear us? You could have carried on a conversation with us?" asked Dumbledore. He wasn't interested in hearing anything about a wedding.

"I used to talk with Ron before he got mad at Hermione. He never did appreciate how wonderful she is. He always expected Hermione to help him do his work, but she always expected him to at least try first. Ron was too lazy." replied Harry.

"What was your perception of time Harry?" asked Dumbledore.

"I hadn't realized that it has been three months. I tried to pay attention to what was going on, but sometimes I would sleep whenever Hermione wasn't engaged in an activity. She likes to spend time in the library reading about stuff." replied Harry.

"So Potter, you and the little missus are getting married." smirked Snape.

"I know that's what she wants, but I think we should talk about it first. I know we're pretty young. In the real world we wouldn't even be thinking about getting married for another four or five years.

There would be another four years of education. Then we would have to decide where we wanted to live and work, what we wanted our future to be like. I don't even know what the possibilities are in the wizard's world.

Where would we work? What kind of work would we do? Where would we live? I think we need to talk about some things first before we consider getting married." replied Harry.

After his talk with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape, Harry went back to the Gryffindor common area to have a talk with Hermione. He wasn't exactly excited about the prospects of getting married. Maybe someday, but not now, not so soon.

He found her in the common area talking with more than a few girls. She was telling them about their wedding plans for Christmas eve. She was excited about going to London and getting a wedding gown. Why was she doing this to him?

Why couldn't she have at least waited until they were alone to talk about it first. Now what was he going to do? If he told her that he didn't want to get married, she would look like a fool to all the other girls. But he didn't really want to get marry either.

They needed to talk. They still had to figure out what they were going to do with the rest of their lives. What were their possibilities? Would they live in the real world or the wizard world? What further education did they need?

Was there a wizard's college? Would it be beneficial to get a muggle education? There were a lot of potential crossover subjects that would be useful in either world.

"Harry!" shouted Hermione when she saw him walk into the room. She went over to greet him. She hugged and kissed him to the hoots of the girls in the room. Harry was a little embarrassed with the unexpected show of affection from her.

"We need to talk." he whispered to her.

"What's wrong Harry? They're still going to let us get married?" she whispered back a little worried.

He led her to a secluded part of the common area where they could talk in private. He didn't want the others to hear their conversation.

"No, they won't stand in our way if that's what you want Hermione, I just thought we should talk about it first. Everything has happened so fast. One minute we are blended together as one.

The next thing I know you nearly faint and I was standing there holding you in my arms. I haven't had a chance to breath never mind think. Everyone is pulling me in different directions. I was hoping to get my bearings before thinking about get married.

I know that you were thinking about getting married when it happened. Why it happen, I don't know and I doubt they know either. Our relationship has changed so much this year. As you know it hasn't exactly been normal the last three months.

We started the school year as very good friends who cared for each other very much. We've been blended for three months where we probably learned more about each other than we thought was possible. We have grown to love each other very much.

But we're still kids Hermione. Do we even know what we want to do with the rest of our lives? What are we going to do? Where are we going to live? What do we do when we leave Hogwarts? Are we going to college? Is there a college for wizards?

I'm just afraid that we're moving too fast. I only want what's best for you. I do love you Hermione." rambled Harry nervously. He hoped she wasn't too upset with him.

"I love you too Harry. It's going to be alright. We'll figure everything out Harry. You'll see. I love you so much." assured Hermione as once again she kissed him passionately to everyone's satisfaction.

Harry was at a loss for words. He was overwhelmed by her show of affection. What's more he loved the feeling he felt as they kissed. He didn't want to stop, but here in the common area wasn't the place.


	9. Chapter 9

**Title: **_**The Blending 15**_

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

Summary: The most gifted witch of her generation with the most powerful young wizard. Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?

Author's note: From the beginning it appeared to me that these two young people were destined to be together. Of all the wizards Hermione could latch onto, Harry was the one. She is the most gifted witch of her generation. She would seek out an equally gifted wizard. It makes no sense for her to be with an idiot, clown, and total screw up that she has at least one major fight with and doesn't speak to for long periods of time.

part nine What does this mean

16 December

Hermione was curious. She had been told before the Blending Ceremony that she was the most gifted young witch at Hogwarts. Some even believed that she was the most gifted witch ever to have ever attended Hogwarts.

She found that rather hard to believe. Surely there had to have been more gifted witches who had attended Hogwarts than her. Two of the houses afterall were named after famous witches.

While she had to admit there were many silly witches here like there were many silly girls in the real world, there were still some very intelligent ones here too.

She wondered how they determined who was gifted and who was not. Was it based on how hard you work? How well prepared you were? Or did it have anything to do with how much extra work you did?

She had to admit that most of the things they did here at Hogwarts came very easy to her, but she had always supposed that was because she was well prepared not because she was smarter. She had always read all the materials at least twice before class.

Then of course you had people like Harry who struggled in the beginning because they didn't like to read over the material before class, but it wasn't long before they soon master whatever they were being taught.

It was one of the reasons she loved him so much. He never seem to get discouraged whenever he couldn't do something. He was willing to work hard if necessary to be able to master something unlike someone else she knew.

The thought of Ron came to mind, he was inherently lazy. He didn't like to work hard or think too hard to get it right unless it was something he really wanted to do. He didn't like to be challenged to learn something or to express himself better.

Eventually she worked out a compromise with both Harry and Ron. She would look over their work and offer suggestions about how to make it better. But they had to at least make the effort to do the assignment first before she was going to help them.

She decided that she needed to have a talk with Professor McGonagall. She was like a grandmother to her. She could talk to her about anything and she really listened to her without passing judgment and she cared.

"Professor McGonagall, may I have a word with you?" asked Hermione quietly.

"Of course Ms Granger, come in, how can I help you? I hope everything is going well with you and Harry." replied McGonagall.

Ms Granger was her favorite and the best student she ever had. She was always ready to do the work and willing to help any of the other students who were in the need of assistance. It made teaching rewarding.

"Yes ma'am, Harry has been wonderful. He's still adjusting to being himself again and to the attention he's been getting. What I would like to talk to you about is the Magical Rating and how it is assigned.

You mentioned to me at the start of the year that I had the highest magical rating of all the girls. I had forgotten all about it because of the Blending. You implied that my rating might be the highest ever. What did you mean by that and how is it determined?" asked Hermione curiously.

"It's your magical knowledge and skills rating. It is based on how much magic you have learned and retained. It may also include your ability in how to do things or how you do when you encounter something you haven't seen before.

One example is, one can't be expected to remember how to make every potion you have made before, but you should be able to follow the directions and be able to make that potion again or make a similar potion that you haven't made before.

It's one of the reasons why you are expected to keep all the potions you have made. We can see if you have improved over time." smiled McGonagall. It never ceased to amazed her how Ms Granger was always wanting to learn something.

"So how was my rating determined?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It was based on the OWLs you took at the end of last year. Plus we review the potions that you have made and how good they are." replied McGonagall.

"What about the extra work I've done outside the classroom? As you know I've done extensive research in the library over the last few years helping Harry deal with his encounters with Lord Voldemort." asked Hermione.

"It's not something we usually think too much about Ms Granger. Most of the students aren't taught everything that's on the OWLs never mind learn everything. No one expects to get a perfect score." replied McGonagall.

"Maybe that's true in theory in the magical world, but it's not a realistic expectation in the real world. In the real world if enough people take a test, there will always be someone who know all the answers no matter how difficult the instructors think the test is.

And what about the knowledge that I've gained that isn't on the OWLs." asked a concerned Hermione. If they were going to give her a rating based on what she knew, then it should encompass everything she had learned.

"That's not usually an issue Ms Granger. Most of the students have enough trouble keeping up with what we teach them. Most of them aren't really curious enough to learn anything outside the classroom.

Those who do learn something outside the classroom rarely learn enough to change their ratings significantly." replied McGonagall.

"While I'm sure that is true on some level ma'am, a lot of us learned quite a bit about the Defense Against the Dark Arts from Harry in fifth year. We hadn't been taught most of it by the professors nor was it on the OWLs.

The only reason Harry knew anything was because Professor Remus Lupin and Professor Mad Eye Moody liked him and wanted to help him learn how to protect himself against the Dementors and Lord Voldemort.

Harry taught us what we needed to learn when we needed it the most. No one here was going to teach us." argued Hermione.

"I don't know what you want me to do Ms Granger. You already have the highest rating ever attained by a student at Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore had the previous highest magical rating as a student.

His rating was 8100. You have already blown way past his magical rating. You have already attained a rating of 9875 with a year left. Why does it matter if your true rating is a few hundred points higher?

No one will ever attain a rating as high as yours ever again." queried a befuddled McGonagall. She had been teaching for more than forty years. She had never had a student with her drive and interest. She doubt she would ever again.

Hermione was very surprised to hear that bit of information, but it didn't change anything. She knew she was very intelligent. Her mother had told her last summer that she had score a 157 on the IQ test she had taken.

But still, to have scored so much higher than the legendary Professor Dumbledore, who was considered by everyone else to be the greatest wizard to have ever graced the halls of Hogwarts, was mind boggling to her.

"I am surprised to learn that my rating is so high, but it hardly reflects all that I know or have learned while I've been here." argued Hermione.

What she was hearing from Professor McGonagall was an excuse similar to ones that Ron would always give her. They didn't care or want to put forth the effort to do the job right. They were being lazy in their assessment of her talents.

"What do you suggest we do Ms Granger?" asked McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall wondered why it was so important to Hermione. She already had the best rating ever attained by a student and still had a year to improve upon it. She highly doubted that anyone would ever do as well in the future. What could be gain by reviewing her work?

"I would like you to review my journals. I have kept a journal for each subject. In each of them I have recorded what I have learned in class and what I have learned on my own through research each year.

I am willing to demonstrate to the members of the staff what I've learned. You have asked me why. Since the staff at Hogwarts has determined that it is necessary to give me a magical rating based on the skills and knowledge I have attained,

then I would appreciate it if they would review everything that I have learned, not just on what they think is important. I want it to reflect my true abilities. I also think you should review Harry's journals as well.

He has learned a lot more than what you have tested us on the OWLs." answered Hermione wondering why she had to explain herself.

Professor McGonagall agreed to review her journals. Hermione went back to Gryffindor Common Area and gathered up her journals and Harry's and took them back to Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall picked up one of Hermione's journals and began reading through it. It was very impressive indeed. She was doing magic well beyond her tender years.

She was doing magic that they didn't teach at Hogwarts nor would they ever consider doing so unless they decided to teach it to the older students. She wondered why Ms Granger had done some of the work that was listed in her journal.

She thought back to some of the things Ms Granger and Harry had been involved in over the years. There was some correlation between their adventures and what had been written in the journal.

She smiled when she realized that Ms Granger had done a lot of library research to find some of the things she had listed here that they used to solved the problems they had encountered.

She had taken what she had learned and applied it to her research and had come up with some very creative solutions. She must have come across charms, spells, and potions that she found interesting and might be of use to her at some later time.

The lists were very impressive as one spell or charm led to another. Ms Granger was truly a genius. Still it seemed that each year she learned more on her own than what she was learning in the classroom.

Maybe Ms Granger was right about the students not being challenged enough if she was capable of doing so much work on her own. She skimmed over the contents of several other journals before deciding to see Albus and Severus.

What she found most impressive was the work done by Harry two years ago when he spent much of the year teaching the other students some of the most difficult skills involving Defense Against the Dark Arts.

What was even more impressive was some of the students he had taught, Longbottom and Lovegood. Two students who had difficulty learning some of the more simpler spells in her classes. They had become quite efficient with their newly acquired skills.

In fact she had noticed upon reflection that they had more confidence in her classes now, something they never had been before. Maybe there was a lesson to be learn somewhere here. Why had he been able to teach them very difficult skills when staff members couldn't teach them the basics?

Gryffindor

Common Area

When Hermione returned to the common area she was greeted by Harry. He had wondered where she had taken off to with their journals and why she didn't have them with her now.

"Why did you give Professor McGonagall our journals Hermione?" asked Harry. Nothing good could come from it he thought.

"I've been told by many people that I'm the most gifted witch here at Hogwarts. I wanted to talk to her about it. I wanted to know if I truly was the most gifted and why they thought so." replied Hermione.

"I would have thought that was obvious to you Hermione. Even Draco has admitted that you're the smartest one here. In fact you scare him more than anyone else including Professor Moody when he was here.

You know a lot more than what people think you know. They don't have a clue what it is that you know. That scares many of them even more. It's good to keep them guessing Hermione." smiled Harry.

"I know why you think I am the smartest Harry, but not everyone here likes to let everybody know how smart they really are. The Patil twins and Cho are very smart even though they act very silly whenever they are around you and the other boys they like.

They can see that boys don't like really smart girls. They see how the boys shy away from me unless they need something and when there is no one else who can help them. Then of course there is you Harry.

You're more gifted than you let on. You have accomplished so much since you've gotten here. You've beaten Lord Voldemort so many times. And you have trained so many of our friends and others who wanted to learn more about Defense Against the Dark Arts.

You were so incredible with us. You showed great patience with Neville and Luna unlike so many of our professors. They were able to learn what you taught them.

Now they have the confidence that they can learn anything that they are being taught. You're a great leader, you're a great wizard Harry." explained Hermione.

"I did what was necessary Hermione. They weren't going to teach us what we needed to know to fight Lord Voldemort and his cronies." argued Harry.

"That's true Harry, but you gained the respect of so many students here. Many of the students envied you when the professors took the time to teach you some advance magic, but they couldn't be bothered to teach the rest of us.

They put you in a bad spot because many of them wanted to learn about the Dark Arts like you had. That's one of the reasons why Malfoy and his house despises you. You change all that when you taught us what they taught you.

It might not have seemed very important to you, but to the rest of us who were willing to learn, it was a rewarding experience because we now feel confident that we can protect ourselves and our families." explained Hermione.

"But the reason I gave her our journals was to show her that what we have learned here at Hogwarts goes far beyond what they have taught us in class. The OWLs only test us on what they teach us or what they think we should know.

I want them to understand how much I have actually learned while I've been here at Hogwarts. That it's not limited to what they have taught us or think is important, but it is much, much more. That it is much broader and more detailed than what they believe." explained Hermione.

"I still don't understand why it's so important Hermione. Who cares what they thinks about what we know." sighed Harry not understanding.

"I want to be the best that I can be Harry. For that to happen I need to know how good I really am. Remember a couple of years ago when Viktor was here? He was supposed to be the best Quidditch seeker in the world.

You've been the best seeker at Hogwarts since your father was here many years ago. But how good are you really? I'm sure that after watching the World Championships you wondered what it would be like to complete against him.

Viktor agreed to play a few matches while he was here to give you an opportunity to see just how good you really are. I think you fare pretty well against him. You beat him once out of three matches you played.

Viktor was very impress with your skills. He thinks you could be very good some day." sighed Hermione wondering why no one could understand why it was important to her.

"That's what I'm doing here. I want to find out how good I am. I also think it will help the professors understand and see the full potential of the students and what they might be interested in learning." added Hermione.

"I don't know Hermione. I think the course material they're teaching us is difficult enough. I know you like to be challenge, but that's because you're really special. You're really gifted, but the rest of us aren't. It really is hard for us to learn some of the stuff they teach us." disputed Harry.

"Is it Harry or was it because you're not interested? Look at what you learned from Lupin and Moody. You were very young at the time. They didn't teach anyone else those skills.

They thought it was much too difficult for the average student. They didn't think we were capable of learning it at such a young age. They thought it would take them too long to teach us in a classroom environment.

But you proved to them that everyone here could learn how to do the skills if they were given the opportunity to learn and at an age two years younger than the age they prefer to teach it.

As you know many of the staff members don't have the patience to teach students who don't grasp what they're teaching quickly. They don't always like to spend time with us and teach us properly." argued Hermione.

"By the way what is your magical rating Hermione?" asked Harry. He was getting tired of the discussion. He knew he wasn't going to win it.

"9875" she answered.

"What does that really mean? How does that compare to everyone else?" asked Harry. He was interested in what the number meant. It seemed to be quite high.

"Dumbledore was the highest rated wizard for over seventy years." she answered.

"What was his rating?" asked Harry somehow suspecting that it wasn't as high as Hermione's.

"8100" she replied with a beautiful sly smile.

"What! I don't understand Hermione. If you're already the highest rated person ever to attend Hogwarts and so much better than all of them, why is it so important that they know how smart you really are?" asked Harry.

"There are a lot of different reasons Harry. From Malfoy's moronic idiotic belief that he's better than I am because he's a pure blood and that I'm not, to Professor Snape's total distain that someone might be smarter than he is.

I think it's important that they know that a muggle education isn't inferior to theirs and that it can augment and enhance what they teach us here." replied Hermione.

"You know your rating is not too far below Dumbledore. If they take in account some of the things that you have learn here in your journal you might even surpass him. McGonagall thinks you will easily pass him by the end of year." smiled Hermione.

"That's not really important to me Hermione. I'm here to learn, not to be better than someone else. The fact that you are the best is good enough for me Hermione. That you have destroyed their preconceptions about mudbloods is enough for me." smiled Harry.

"But that just the point Harry. Some people get set in their ways, especially people like Dumbledore. He was always smarter and better than everyone else was, so no one ever challenged his way of thinking. He always did things his own way.

He didn't know why our blending was so much different than everyone else's. He can't explain why the flame was thirty feet high and lasted over ten minutes. He might find it fascinating, but in the end he doesn't really care why.

If he did he would do some research and find out the answer. But that would mean he would have to get out of his comfort zone. It's not who he is. He would rather be the big fish in a small pond than to be a big fish in a large pond with other big fish.

Which is okay I guess if that is what you want, but I think you should be willing to listen to what other people have to say. They may have ideas that might be better than your own. They may know something that you don't. There are many ways to teach and learn Harry.

Many of them don't know anything about the real world. If they did, it was so long ago. You've seen Mr. Weasley. He's fascinated by the muggle world, but he doesn't have a clue of what it's all about. He doesn't even know how to dress properly when he goes about in it.

The ministry doesn't want the wizard world to know anything about the real world. Many of them don't realized how far the real world has progressed in the last fifty years.

While many of them are gifted in what they can do, they live in a world that is close to a hundred years behind ours. Technology today has left them way behind. They are so backwards in their thinking and the way they live their lives and they don't even know it." countered Hermione.


	10. Chapter 10

**Title: **_**The Blending 15**_

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

Summary: The most gifted witch of her generation with the most powerful young wizard. Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?

Author's note: From the beginning it appeared to me that these two young people were destined to be together. Of all the wizards Hermione could latch onto, Harry was the one. She is the most gifted witch of her generation. She would seek out an equally gifted wizard. It makes no sense for her to be with an idiot, clown, and total screw up that she has at least one major fight with and doesn't speak to for long periods of time.

part ten You need to get over it

17 December

The next morning Harry was getting dress. Something he hadn't done in a long time. Everything seemed right in the world. He had a girl who loved him and he loved her. He still wasn't sure about getting marry, but if that was what she wanted, then who was he to argue with her.

"It's nice to have you back Harry." greeted Ron. His best friend in the whole world was back. He finally had someone to talk to who understood him and could sympathized with him.

"Thanks Ron, it's nice to be back among the living." laughed Harry. "Where have you been Ron? Hermione needed you, I needed you."

"She doesn't need me Harry. She made that perfectly clear the night of the Blending Ceremony. She had you. You are all she ever needed." replied Ron a little bitterly.

"Maybe that's true Ron, but you were still her friend. You're my friend too. It would have been nice to talk to you once in a while, find out what was going on." countered Harry wondering what was wrong.

"You mean Hermione, the one you mind melded with." argued Ron.

"No Ron, we didn't mind meld, that's science fiction. As for talking to me you might have been seeing her face, but you would have been talking to me. It would have been me talking to you although you would have been hearing her voice.

We could have talked about Quidditch or what Haggard was up to. I haven't seen Haggard since last spring. Hermione doesn't have any classes with him. Why did you abandon us Ron?" asked Harry.

"They told me that she was supposed to blend with me Harry! I would have been the first one to be chosen. I would have been important for a little while. I would have been remembered as being the first one chosen even if it was only for a little while, but once again I got shafted.

I was the forgotten one again. Hermione was in the spotlight. Whoever she chose would have to be respected. For once I could have gotten some respect from everyone,

but instead she decided to choose you and once again I became the butt of the joke because everyone knew she rejected me as a choice to blend with. It was made even worse when I was one of the last persons to be chosen and it had to be by loony Luna." moaned Ron.

"You know it wasn't about you Ron. She has been in love with me for a very long time. She thought the Blending Ceremony was a precursor to getting married. That was all she was thinking about Ron, marrying me.

I think you know that she has always wanted to be with me. Why else would she have hung out with two bums like us? You know it wasn't because of your sunny disposition. A lot of the things that she has done to help me was because she wanted to be close to me." Harry tried to explain,

"I've helped you." whispered Ron.

"I know you have and I appreciated everything that you have done Ron. You have been my best friend Ron. I never had a friend like you before I came here. But Hermione is my friend too. You have to admit at least once every year you have had a fight with her and you didn't speak to her for weeks at a time." Harry tried to reassure him.

"She's always trying to make me feel stupid." whined Ron.

"That's not true Ron. She was only trying to help you. She does want you to succeed, but she expects you to at least make an effort before she helps you. She believes that you're capable of doing anything you want to if you at least make the effort." argued Harry.

"It doesn't feel that way." whined Ron.

"Ron! Everyone feels that way around her, even me. Most of us are of average intelligence, but she really is gifted. Her brain works on a level we can't comprehend. It is easy for her because she makes the effort to succeed.

She prepares herself to do well in class. She doesn't want Snape or anyone else to embarrass her in class because she is a mud blood and doesn't know the answer. It's how children are raised in the real world.

They are encouraged to learn and be the very best they can be. So what's the real story Ron? Some of the other girls have teased Hermione that you have feelings for her. Are you in love with her?" asked Harry.

It wasn't going to change anything, but at least he would be able to understand why Ron felt the way he did.

"I don't know what you're talking about Harry." said Ron in denial.

"It's okay if you are Ron. I can understand why you would be. She has become very beautiful this year and she's smart. It's very easy to fall in love with her or develop a crush if you let yourself.

But you have to know she will never love you. She has dreamed of marrying me since first year. She even had Professor McGonagall marry us in a pretend wedding ritual the first year we were here at Hogwarts.

Two years ago she wanted to renew our vows. She went back to Professor McGonagall, but she sent us to Professor Snape instead. Professor Snape found it rather amusing. He thought I lacked the backbone to stand up to her and was only placating Hermione.

But he did perform the ritual for us. It seemed so real. He had us drink some special potion that seemed to cloud our minds, but it intensified our feelings for one another.

Hermione was even more in love with me. She became even more affectionate towards me. Surely you must have noticed how she greets me everyday and says good bye." Harry tried to explained to Ron the reality of one Hermione Granger.

"I know you believe that there was something between her and Viktor when he was here several years ago, but to her he was just a good friend from another part of the world who showed her that she was someone special in way that she didn't think was possible.

He gave her something that you or I couldn't give her at the time. He allowed her to become a woman while we still thought of her as a girl. He allowed her to have that special night at the Ball that every girl dreams about before you decided to screw things up for her.

She was angry with you for a while, but she never hated you. She was still your friend." sighed Harry as he tried to clear up some misconceptions with Ron.

"I'm sorry that everyone seems to forget about you whenever we did something great. We have always been a team. All three of us have always contributed to our success. Hermione and I have never forgotten that Ron.

I wished that I could fly under the radar at times. It's not easy getting so much attention. You can't be yourself. And it's not always good you know. I have suffered my share of humiliation too.

I haven't forgotten that you have always been there when I need you, neither has Hermione. But you have to understand what the Blending Ceremony meant to her Ron,

it wasn't about not choosing you as much as it was about being with me, the one she loves. That was the only thing she was thinking about that night." concluded Harry.

"That's not what I heard Harry. I heard that she received the announcement to whom she was going to be blended to, it was supposed to be me. Luna said she became very hysterical after she read it and started sobbing.

She packed everything she owned and was headed out the door of Hogwarts when Professor McGonagall caught up to her. Professor McGonagall was scared because she was sobbing so hard. So you see Harry it did have something to do with me." argued Ron who was nearly in tears himself.

"That was only because she thought she would have to marry you Ron. It wasn't what she wanted." countered Harry.

"Would it have been so bad if she did marry me?" asked Ron. He had felt like garbage for so long he was hoping that Harry would say he was a person worthy of being with anyone.

"No, if that was what she really wanted Ron, but as I have explained to you before, she has dreamed of marrying me since the day we first met. Viktor couldn't get her to change her mind and forget about me even though she was flattered by all the attention he gave her.

But she only got his attention because she ignored him. She didn't chase after him liked every other girl did. It allowed him to get to know Hermione and fall in love with her, but Hermione was in love with me.

I doubt very much that anyone could have changed her mind unless I completely rejected her. And that probably wouldn't have happen until we had been away from Hogwarts for many years.

You have to understand that we come from a very different world than you do Ron. Your world is very quaint and nice. It has its appeal. But it is also very simple and backward from the world in which we grew up in.

The technology that we're used to living with would baffle your mind. It goes way beyond any magic that anyone here can comprehend. In a way it is magic in it's own right because most people don't understand how any of it works.

I'm sorry that you were forgotten to the end Ron. Maybe it had something to do with the three of us always hanging out together. The other girls never had a chance to get to know you, especially if they thought you were interested in Hermione.

But I don't think it was so bad being chosen by Luna. She is quite special in her own unique way. She is often misunderstood and forgotten too.

There is a lot you could learn from her if you would only open your mind to all the possibilities and are willing to listen. You might even like her if you gave her a chance." smiled Harry.

It was time to meet Hermione and go to breakfast. They were supposed to meet an hour ago, but sometimes you have to have the conversation with a friend to clear the air.


	11. Chapter 11

**Title: **_**The Blending 15**_

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

Summary: The most gifted witch of her generation with the most powerful young wizard. Hermione wants to be with Harry. What lengths will she go through to be with him? What are the limits of her powers?

Author's note: From the beginning it appeared to me that these two young people were destined to be together. Of all the wizards Hermione could latch onto, Harry was the one. She is the most gifted witch of her generation. She would seek out an equally gifted wizard. It makes no sense for her to be with an idiot, clown, and total screw up that she has at least one major fight with and doesn't speak to for long periods of time.

part eleven Time to get ready

18 December

Minerva asked Albus if they could sit down and talk about Ms Granger and Harry. Ms Granger had given her about a dozen journals to review. Ms Granger wasn't satisfied with their evaluation of her talents.

She thought the professors should review her journals. Her skills were much better then they had given her credit for. They covered areas that weren't tested on the OWLs and the staff wasn't completely aware of.

"Tell me again why we're looking through Ms Granger's journals?" asked a perturbed Snape. He hated obnoxious know it all who thought they were better than everyone else. It was the holiday season and he wanted to relax for once.

"For one I told her that we would, but more importantly I wanted to see exactly what she has learned while she's been here and when she learned it. I also wanted to know the reasons behind why she learned what she did." replied McGonagall.

"It should give us some insight into how Ms Granger thinks when she is solving a problem. We all know that she spends a lot of time in the library. At first we thought it was to learn more about Hogwarts and the wizard world. She had been raised in the muggle world and knew nothing about us." added Dumbledore.

"Looking through her journals also gives us insight on how they decided to fight Lord Voldemort each time they met with him. Her thought process was truly amazing for someone so young. They were learning things at age twelve that we don't teach to our students until sixth year." stated McGonagall.

"It's truly amazing some of the things she knows how to do. It's not hard to understand now why her rating is so high. She has learned a lot to be sure, but the breath of her learning is extraordinary. It is so diverse and detailed." observed Dumbledore.

"Her knowledge of potion making is substantial." observed Snape as he skimmed over the list. "But the quality and ease of her work has always been lacking. It's an area in which she still struggles with."

"You might want to check out some of the pages near the end of the journal Severus. She mentions that she took small samples of her work to be analyze at a laboratory in the muggle world. She told the lab what the potion was used for.

They did a test on all the solutions. They gave her a chemical analysis of all her old potions. With the help of a chemistry professor she devised a process to make all the potions using only purified chemicals that they use in their world.

All her new potions came back much purer and more potent than anything she has made here. You need to check out her potions against your own and see if they are good as they are supposed to be and if they are good or better, then you should check the procedures that she has devised in making them." directed McGonagall.

"Just how many potions are we talking about Minerva. I have some time over the next two weeks to test her potions if there aren't too many." replied Snape wondering why he had to do this. He really didn't like the idea of being given extra work to do.

"I think they all should be tested. If her potions are indeed much better than yours, we'll need to take a look at her process and compared them to yours. Our goal should be to produce the best potions we can." directed Dumbledore.

"It's not always about making the best potions, it's about the methodology, the history, the way of life." argued Snape.

"I don't think you will be able to test them all in two weeks. She has nearly two hundred and fifty potions listed here that she's made." observed McGonagall.

"That seems to be an improbable accomplishment even for the gifted Ms Granger, but if anyone can do it I suppose it would be her. She has always been an overachiever. I do have two students who could assist me over the break." moaned Snape. He would be very busy for next few months.

"Thank you Severus, we can test her other skills later next month. We might have to reevaluate at what age we teach certain skills in the future." added Dumbledore.

"Maybe some things we can, but many of the students have difficulty learning how to do the basic skills. It wouldn't be prudent to accelerate their learning until they have mastered the basics." countered McGonagall.

"Still, after what Potter accomplished two years ago when he taught the other students some very advance spells against the Dark Arts, maybe we should expect more from them." smirked Snape. He always believed that the students were being coddled and not pushed hard enough.

"Did Ms Granger happen to mention why she wants us to check her work?" asked Snape.

"A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing. She found out about her magical rating. She was curious as to what it meant and how it was determined. I informed her it was a measure of her magic skills and knowledge gained from the results of the OWLs.

She told me that the OWLs didn't fully measure her skills or her magical knowledge. Her knowledge of magical skills is considerably more than what was on the test." replied McGonagall.

"And from what I can see here, I would have to agree with her assessment." affirmed Dumbledore.

"We could always give her the seventh year test. It encompasses much more material than the OWLs." suggested Snape.

"There's time for that later. There is a lot of material we can test her on now. Minerva, inform her that we will tested her and Harry the third week of next month. We need time to make a list of the charms, spells, and other skills she has mastered and test them." directed Dumbledore.

"I don't understand why you're placating her. What does it matter anyway, she has the highest rating already. I seriously doubt we'll ever see another student of her ability again." sighed Snape. It was going to be an awful lot of work for no apparent gain.

"We have the obligation to do things right. We can't expect our students to put forth the extra effort to do things right and not be willing do so ourselves." argued McGonagall.

"Have you figured out how much this will affect her rating Minerva?" asked Dumbledore.

"I'm not sure Albus. I haven't had the chance to assign a value to the list of skills she has mastered. I was more interested in seeing what she had learned and how old she was at the time. I wanted to see how much she had learned and how difficult it was.

I think she has learned a lot more than we might have expected. The breath of what she has learned is amazing. If I didn't know their history I would have wondered why she would have learn some of the things that she has.

It's interesting to see the thought process behind how she and Potter dealt with Lord Voldemort. But as for your question of the value of all this work, I would say anywhere from six hundred points to as much as a thousand.

It's hard to tell because there is a lot of material here that we don't usually teach or isn't commonly learned any more today. Potter has at least ten to fifteen spells that aren't even taught here. Severus is the only one that I know who uses most of them." replied McGonagall.

"He got them out of my old potions book that I use to teach potions. He was given it when he didn't have a book of his own. He denies that he still has it although he used my notes to make potions last year.

They were ways I have found that simplify making the potions. Those spells were written in the book too. Potter has since mastered them. He said he doesn't have the book, but he hasn't returned it to me either." offered Snape.

"You might want to check out the old storage room up on the fifth floor. It's where they put all the old stuff that we don't use anymore. Not many people know about it.

I wouldn't be surprise if Potter came across it during one of his late night walks when he was supposed to be in bed. He probably hid it in there." replied McGonagall.

20 December

Hermione needed to contact her parents about the wedding. There were no telephones to the real world. The only possible way was to send a message to her parents via owl mail. She wrote a short note asking her parents to meet her in London.

She gave the note to Harry who tied it the owl's foot and sent it on its way. She had such wonderful news to tell them. A few days later she met them outside the train station. They went to lunch at one of their favorite restaurants.

"I have so much to tell you Mom!" greeted Hermione excitedly.

Mrs. Granger looked at her daughter. She seemed to be so happy, happier than she had ever seen her. She was surprised to see how tall she had grown. Hermione had stopped growing when she was fourteen.

She took a quick look at her feet to see if Hermione was wearing three inch heels or something, but saw only flats on her daughter's feet. She wondered how it was possible that her daughter had grown three inches after not growing an inch for three years.

"Hello to you too Hermione. Oh, I'm fine. The Johnsons are thinking about selling their house. I can see that you're very happy about something. Have you grown?" asked her mother.

"Hi mom, what? Yeah, I grew three inches a few months ago." replied Hermione.

"Are you ready to go home? We have a special Christmas planned this year. Where's all your stuff?" asked her mother.

"No mom, my stuff is back at Hogwarts. Mom! I'm getting married!" replied Hermione with glee.

"What! Who are you marrying?" asked her mother.

She was totally shocked that her little girl was getting married. How was that possible? She wasn't even eighteen yet. What was wrong with those people with whom she had entrusted to take care of her girl?

"Harry! We getting married Christmas eve! Isn't it wonderful!" replied Hermione excitedly.

"You're not old enough to be getting married Hermione. You should wait until you're at least twenty five." countered her mother. Harry was the boy they met this summer. He seemed okay.

"Make that thirty. She'll need time to develop her practice before she thinks about getting married." added her father with a wink.

"Mom! We've been together for six and a half years. That's more than enough time. There is no one else in the world I want to be with. They get married much younger in the wizard world." argued Hermione.

"You're not always going to be living in the wizard world Hermione. I know you're very smart. But you know that there is more to life than magic." her mother countered.

"I know that mom and I will deal with that at the appropriate time. But for now I'm getting ready to marry Harry. I want you to help me pick out a wedding gown." pleaded Hermione.

"Do witches even wear wedding gowns or white?" asked her mother realizing that she wasn't going to change her daughter's mind.

"I don't know whether other witches do or not, but I will be when I marry Harry. What's the matter daddy?" asked Hermione. Her father was looking at her a little funny.

"You look so beautiful Hermione. When did you become so beautiful? You were always cute and adorable, but I never remember you being so beautiful as you are now." replied her father.

"Thank you daddy. It's a long story, but it happened when Harry and I became one." replied Hermione.

They spent the next several hours going from one bridal shop to another looking at wedding gowns. Hermione finally found the one she liked. Her mother and father both agreed that she looked absolutely beautiful.

"Do you think Harry will like it?" asked Hermione.

"He would love you even if you were wearing a potato sack, but I do believe he will love seeing you in this gown. You look beautiful in it." replied her mother.

"I love him so much mom. I don't think I could live without him." wailed Hermione.

"I know you love him dear. He's all you have talked about whenever you've been home the last six and a half years, but I'm sure that somehow you would manage to survive if he wasn't there and something were to happen to him." her mother smiled. Young love.

"I almost left Hogwarts last September. They wanted me to be with Ron. I was ready to leave and come home. I didn't want to be a witch anymore." wailed Hermione.

"He's not that bad is he? I thought he was your friend." countered her mother.

"He's more Harry's friend than he is mine. I only tolerated him because Harry likes him so much. We seem to have a big fight every year and then he doesn't speak to me for weeks on end." replied Hermione.

"That can happen Hermione especially when you're good friends. Sometimes you say more than you should thinking that they deserve to hear the truth, but sometimes it's better to hold your tongue. Hearing the truth can hurt and it isn't always the best thing." countered her mother.

"I thought they wanted me to blend with Ron instead of Harry. There was no way I was going to let that happen. There was no way I was going to blend with Ron for the rest of my life.

I was almost out the door when Professor McGonagall caught up with me. She told me I didn't have to blend with Ron. She said I could choose to blend with Harry instead if that was what I wanted. So I chose Harry for the Blending Ceremony and not Ron.

Ron was quite upset with that. Why I don't know. But it was the most wonderful experience of my life." replied Hermione.

"If he was upset Hermione, it was probably because he likes you more than what he has let on. What was the ceremony?" asked her mother.

"It was a ceremony where two people are joined together as one. We were only supposed to be joined together for a couple of weeks, instead we were together for three months. We only separated last week." replied Hermione.

"I don't think I understand Hermione. What is this ceremony?" asked her mother.

"It's kind of difficult to explain. They call it a Blending Ceremony. It entails magic. During the ceremony two people become one person. While you're blended with the other person you're supposed to gain or learn something from being with the other person.

You're supposed to become a better witch or wizard and in some cases a better person. The ceremony uses a lot of magic for visual effect. During the ceremony the witch and wizard hold each other in their arms.

They begin to spin around in a circle. There's a flash of smoke, a colored flame appears where the two people begin to blend. The blending creates a color flame base on your magical powers. It's usually either red, green, or blue.

The flame usually reaches eight to ten feet in height. When the flame dies down only one person is left standing there. The other person is inside you. They say that when Harry and I blended together the flame was over thirty feet high and had all the colors of the rainbow." sighed Hermione.

"Wow! That must have been a beautiful sight. It's too bad they didn't film the ceremony. I'm sure many people who weren't there would have loved to have seen it." agreed her mother.

"Well you know they aren't too big on technology mom. I know I would have liked to have seen our blending. It was supposed to have been a once in a lifetime experience. They say no one had ever seen anything like it before.

It might explained why I grew three inches and why they say I became more beautiful. They say all the boys couldn't take their eyes off me when I'm in the room. I don't know why they say that because I think I look the same as I always have. Maybe it's because I'm so happy to be with Harry." replied Hermione.

"Hermione, you are more beautiful now than you were last summer. It's true. You've gone from being cute and adorable to being very beautiful. I don't know what the reason is. Maybe it's maturity or the way you carry yourself now. Maybe who you are now is how Harry has always seen you. There is so much elegance in your manner now." smiled her mother.


	12. Chapter 12

part twelve Time to be happy

24 December

Hogwarts

One of the beauties of the Magic World was that the appearance of something could be changed to suit ones needs. In this case the great hall could be change from a dining hall into a place where one got married or in this case a cathedral.

Hermione had take several pictures of a cathedral that she would liked to get married in. She gave the pictures to Professor McGonagall and asked her if it was at all possible to change the great hall to look like the cathedral.

Professor McGonagall was surprised to see the pictures. She had never seen anything like it before, but agreed that it was possible to make the hall look like a cathedral capable of seating two hundred and fifty people if that was what she wanted.

Hermione also her a picture of a reception room that she wanted the great hall to look like after the ceremony. Everyone would walk out of the cathedral and then back in after the room was change.

Many of their classmates that usually went home over the Christmas break decided to stay at Hogwarts when they heard about the Christmas Eve wedding between Harry and Hermione. There would be a train to London the following day.

Many of the students from the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflenpuff houses stayed for the wedding. Many of them had never seen a wedding before. Only a few from the Slytherin house stayed.

Much to Draco Malfoy's chagrin he was one of those who was force to stay at Hogwarts. His parents had decided to attend the wedding. Why that was young Malfoy didn't understand. The wedding involved a mud blood and half blood.

Why did they wish to attend? The wedding was an unusual event at Hogwarts. Since Lucien Malfoy was on the board of Governors, he felt a certain obligation to attend. Besides the fact that his wife loved attending weddings.

In this wedding there were two parts to it, a Christian wedding and a wizard wedding. She had never seen a Christian wedding before although she had heard about them. She wanted to see a Christian one.

They would be sitting in a cathedral. She wondered what that was like. She had heard that cathedral were supposed to be grand in scale and style. It promised to be exciting.

The day of their wedding had come. Dumbledore had the hall set up to Hermione's specifications. Everyone who was attending was seated in their pews. Everyone was so excited.

Ron and Harry were the first ones to walk to the front. Ron was Harry's best man. They were dressed in formal robes. They were followed in by Luna who stood opposite of Ron. She was Hermione's maid of honor, which irritated Ron to no end.

For some reason he didn't like to be in close proximity to her. Harry saw Hermione's parents and his uncle and aunt sitting in the first row. He had been surprised to see his uncle and aunt sitting there considering how much they hated magic.

Finally the music change and Hermione was walking down the aisle to Harry. She looked so stunning in her gown of white. Many of them had never seen a wedding gown or a bride dressed in white before.

Wedding parties were usually dressed in the formal robes of their family. They were shocked to see that Hermione was even more beautiful than before with the gown hugging her ample curves.

She looked like an angel or even a goddess from on high. It seemed that a spell had been cast upon everyone in the cathedral. They couldn't take their eyes off of her as she walked towards Harry.

"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful Lucius? She's absolutely stunning. I don't think I've ever seen anyone as beautiful as she is. The gown makes her look like a goddess." observed Mrs. Malfoy.

Draco just about gagged upon hearing what his mother had said. He had never thought of Hermione as beautiful, though he didn't think she was exactly ugly either. She had always been an annoying pest to him, not someone worthy of his attention.

She was someone who didn't belong at Hogwarts. But he couldn't deny that her beauty had indeed grown over the years. All the young wizards had difficulty focusing on their studies whenever Hermione was in the room.

They couldn't concentrate and do their work. They would all sit there staring at her instead of their teacher. He found that he was no exception. More than a few times Snape had slapped the back of his head to arouse him from the trance he was in.

He had become fixated on Hermione. A few times Coyle stuck bitterroot in his mouth as it hung open like a dog with drool appearing at its edge. Lucius didn't know what to think about Hermione's beauty.

He really didn't want to be there. He hated attending weddings, but he liked seeing his wife happy. It was price one had to pay for being a pillar of society. You had to attend many formal events that you weren't interested in.

He looked over to see Hermione walking by. He had to admit that Ms Granger did look exquisite. She had grown up very nicely and had become very beautiful. She was intoxicatingly beautiful if you didn't advert your eyes quickly.

He remembered the first time his wife had seen Ms Granger. She was small, but very cute and adorable. She had told him that she wished Hermione was her little girl. He couldn't understand why that was, Ms Granger was a mud blood.

But maybe it had something to do with a woman wanting a little girl in their life. There were so many things they like to do with them, none of which he understood. It didn't really matter, they were never going to have a little girl.

Ron stood there in a trance as he watched Hermione walk down the aisle. He didn't move when she reached Harry and shared a kiss with him before turning to face the priest. Ron was still looking towards where Hermione had been and not where she was now. It caused everyone to laugh.

Harry had to poke him in the ribs to bring him out of his trance. Luna giggled at the silliness of Ron's behavior. She had seen most of the other boys doing the same. She didn't understand why that was, but she found it rather amusing.

Maybe her amazing powers created an allusion so powerful that boys couldn't advert their eyes and were in her power. No wonder she was considered the most gifted witch.

Harry watched as Hermione walked down the aisle to him. He still wasn't sure that what they were doing was right. But she looked so beautiful to him. Maybe she was right, maybe they did belong together.

It didn't matter anymore. In an hour they would be together for the rest of their lives. Not exactly an unpleasant thought. He loved her and was happy that she loved him. He had lived without love for so long.

There was a sense of awe by many of the students. Many of them had never been to a wedding before, never mind a muggle one. They had never been in a cathedral before either. The cathedral was an amazing place to be.

It added to the grandeur of the event. It was an extraordinary experience. They were stunned when they saw Hermione walking down the aisle in a white gown. Her overwhelming beauty was amplified ten fold.

She was a beautiful and elegant vision for all to behold. They marveled as Harry and Hermione shared a kiss and laughed at Ron when he stood there like a buffoon. It was no wonder why Ron always came up short and Harry came out ahead.

No one ever doubted that Harry and Hermione were destined to be together. It seemed that they had been together since the day that they met. It was rare to see one without the other.

The first ceremony went longer than expected, but it was well received. It was beautifully conducted. Harry and Hermione never took their eyes off one another especially when they said their vows.

They shared a passionate kiss when they were pronounced husband and wife. Then the priest left and Snape replaced him. He conducted a much simpler ceremony. Midway through the ceremony he offered them some potion to drink.

The effect was immediate, as they appeared to be more in love as their gazed for one another intensified. There was a surreal glow coming from Hermione. There was so much love between them. They shared another kiss when the ceremony was over.

Everyone moved out of the cathedral setting while it was quickly transformed into the reception hall that Hermione wanted. The guests were escorted back into the hall to their seats to wait for the entrance of Harry and Hermione.

The room was set up with tables seating sixteen people around the room with the center left open for dancing. At one table there was the wedding party seating Harry and Hermione, Ron and Luna (to Ron's chagrin), the Grangers, and the Dursleys.

Hermione was glowing, she was so happy to be married to Harry. But what was more important, she was able to share her special day with her parents and Harry's family. It wasn't very often that the wizard world opened up their world to muggles.

But occasions like this were very special to those involved especially when it involved two students that the entire staff liked. Hermione was the most gifted witch to ever attend Hogwarts and a joy to teach.

Harry would soon be the most accomplished wizard who had overcome so much in his short life. It was only fitting that the people responsible for raising them and giving them to the wizard world should be a part of their special day.

"I don't know how you did it Harry, but you got yourself a beautiful girl. I hope she makes you happy." stated Uncle Vernon. He had been a bit uneasy when he arrived, but watching the wedding help him to relax.

"She does uncle, I wouldn't have been able to succeed here without her in my life. She's so smart." replied Harry.

"Well, take good care of her Harry. There's nothing better than having a good woman who loves you in your life." conceded Uncle Vernon.

"You look so beautiful Hermione. You must be very happy." said Mrs. Granger.

"I am mom. It's a dream come true. I can't believe that Harry and I are finally married." replied Hermione. She was finding it very hard to relax and sit still.

"I still can't believed that you have grown three inches and how beautiful you've become since the summer." added Mr. Granger.

"Thank you daddy." replied Hermione.

Snape walked over to their table. He saw her sitting at the table with Harry. He was surprised that Petunia had agreed to come to Hogwarts. She hated everything to do with magic after she had been refused the opportunity to attend Hogwarts.

After her sister died he had wanted to offer his condolences to her, but she wouldn't have any of it. They had had a rocky relationship after he had taken her sister Lilly away from her and gone to Hogwarts without her.

But after Lilly's death they had not spoken in almost seventeen years.

She held him responsible for her death and he readily assumed that responsibility when he couldn't prevent Lord Voldemort from killing her.

"Petunia, it's nice to see you again. It has been a long time." greeted Snape.

Harry and Hermione were surprised to Snape walking over to their table. They wondered what he could want. He had conducted a wonderful ceremony.

"Severus, it has been a long time. This is my husband Vernon." greeted Petunia.

"Your sister loved you very much. She would be proud of the job you have done raising Harry. He's one of the best students we've had here at Hogwarts. You have taught him strong moral values. It's been an honor being his teacher." offered Snape.

"Thank you Severus, but Harry's accomplishments are his own. I don't take any credit for it." replied Petunia. She still didn't like the world of witchcraft and she never would.

"I'm sorry about Lilly. You know how much I cared for her. I did everything I could to prevent her death, but she died because of her love for Harry was greater than her own life." offered Snape contritely.

Vernon just sat there. He had heard about Snape after Lilly had died and Harry had been dumped on them to raise. He had been a friend of Petunia and Lilly when they were growing up. He had heard that Lilly and Snape might get marry some day,

but something happened and she married someone name Potter instead. He never did know why that happened. Harry and Hermione were surprised to hear that Snape and Harry's mother had been so close and had almost married. Was that the reason why Snape never liked Harry?

"So this is your friend Ronald. He is rather tall and gangly. It's been a long time since I've seen a carrot top." smiled Mr. Granger causing everyone to laugh, but Ron.

"Do you have any brothers and sisters Ron?" asked Mrs. Granger.

"He has five brothers and a sister. They all are carrot tops." giggled Luna understanding the strange term that was used to describe Ron.

You must be Ron's girlfriend Luna. You are very lovely and have a beautiful voice. I think if I close my eyes I could envision hearing birds singing." smiled Mr. Granger.

"Thank you Sir. That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." wailed Luna.

"You must always whisper sweet nothing to your lady Ron. It makes life worth living." teased Mr. Granger.

"She's not my girl friend." mumbled Ron, but no one heard him. They had moved onto more important topics.


	13. Chapter 13

part thirteen A special gift

After dinner was over Harry and Hermione got up for the first dance. They were followed shortly onto the dance floor by the Grangers and Dursleys. Soon others were joining them on the dance floor.

After a period Harry and Hermione began to make their way around to all the tables to thank everyone for coming to their wedding and that they would be expecting a wedding gift from each of them before the end of the school year.

One of the last tables they visited was the one that the Malfoys were sitting at. They were surprised to see the Malfoys sitting there. There was no love lost between them. Why were they there?

"Thank you for coming Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. I hope you have enjoyed the festivities." greeted Hermione. The day was too special to get upset with seeing someone you didn't like.

"Thank you for allowing us to come Hermione. It was a wonderful experience. I have never experience a muggle wedding before. It was beautiful. I loved your choice of having it in a cathedral.

It gave one a special feeling sitting there watching the service and you looked so beautiful. I love your gown, it's very beautiful." exclaimed Mrs. Malfoy smiling.

"My wife loves weddings. My position allows her to attend many of them. This was an unique experience for us and I want to thank you for allowing us to attend though I don't think Draco is too happy to be here.

My wife on the other hand has been enchanted with you since she met you so many years ago. She thought you were the cutest and most adorable little girl she had ever seen. She wished you were her own. She has always wanted a little girl." smiled Lucius.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you to say." said Hermione as a thought suddenly came to her.

She had learned a special spell this year. She had more time to spend in the library doing research this year since Ron wasn't speaking to her and she wasn't helping Harry with anything. It was called the wishing spell.

One cast a spell while another wished for something they truly wanted. Her thought was to cast a spell on Draco while his mother wished for a girl. She slipped her wand from her sleeve.

Draco was standing twenty feet away from her with his back to her. He looked angry and bored to her. None of his friends had stayed for the wedding. He was probably wondering why he had to be there. He surely was old enough to be left home alone.

"My mother told me when I was a little girl that if I wanted something all I had to do is close my eyes and ask God with all my heart and it would come true. What is it that you really want Mrs. Malfoy?

If you close your eyes and wish with all your heart it will come true today, for today is the most special day of the year." smiled Hermione as she prepared to cast her spell as she and Mrs. Malfoy shared a hug.

She watched as Mrs. Malfoy closed her eyes. When everyone was looking at her, Hermione silently cast her spell at Draco. She smiled with satisfaction when Draco turned into a twelve year old girl barely four and a half feet tall.

She slipped the wand back up her sleeve and stepped back away from Mrs. Malfoy. She took Harry's hand and they quickly walked backed to their table. When they got back to their table they heard a shout. "Mom!" It was Draco calling out as he discovered what had happened to him.

The Malfoys turned in the direction of their son and noticed that he wasn't their son anymore. He was a young girl with long blond hair. What was going on? What had happened? They each took one of his/her hands and walked out of the reception hall.

"What just happened?" Harry asked Hermione.

"I granted Mrs. Malfoy a wish." smiled Hermione.

"Why in the world would you do that? You know Draco and his father don't like us even if he was very cordial today." asked Harry a bit confused.

"You heard what Mr. Malfoy said, his wife has wanted a little girl just like me since she met me six years ago. I cast a special spell and turned Draco into whatever his mother wanted most in the world, a twelve year old girl just like me.

She gets what she wants, I get my revenge on Draco, and his father will be beside himself for a long time. He won't be able to change Draco back and no one will be able to figure out what happen." smiled Hermione.

"What about your journals? Don't you have it written down somewhere in your journals?" asked Harry.

"No, I don't put anything into the journals that I've learned outside the classroom until the end of the school year. I keep all the spells and charms I learn in another journal and then I transcribed them later." smiled Hermione.

"There is no way they will think I'm capable of doing something like that especially while I was talking to the Malfoys when it happened."

"I don't know Hermione, I think you're going to be the first one they suspect. You did say that she could have anything she wished for." argued Harry.

"I'm in a very happy place Harry. Today is very special. I think anything is possible today." smiled Hermione as she went to say their good byes to their family.

It was time to leave before they became the center of the Malfoy's crisis. They were spending the night in Hogsmeade before returning to London tomorrow. They wanted to spend the night alone together as any newlyweds would.

It would be the first night of their honeymoon courtesy of mom and pop Granger. They were going to spend the next ten days on the French Riviera enjoying the sun and fresh air. There was also the French Cuisine to enjoy too.

But all Harry was thinking about was seeing Hermione in her little two piece bikini and maybe even in a teddy or two.

25 December

There was a train to London for all the students who had decided to stay for the wedding and still wanted to go home and spend the holidays with their families. Harry, Hermione, the Grangers, and Dursleys shared a compartment.

They talked about the wedding. They had enjoyed both services. The food had been excellent. And there was good music for dancing. They avoided talking about what happened at the end of the night to Malfoy. The Dursleys didn't want to know and the Grangers weren't sure they did either.

5 January

At the end of their honeymoon it was time to return to Hogwarts. While they were happy to be returning, they weren't very happy to hear that they wouldn't be able to spend their nights together in the same bed.

Hogwarts didn't have coed sleeping arrangements and they weren't going to make an exception for them. They didn't want to create a precedence. They didn't want other students getting the idea of getting married so that they could sleep together.

Harry and Hermione hoped that when they returned that they didn't have to deal with any repercussions of Malfoy's transformation. Harry had been quite amused when Hermione told him the whole story about what she had done and how she had done it.

But he wasn't happy about the idea that it involved the Malfoys. Lucius Malfoy wasn't a man to be trifled with. He could be very dangerous. While he could be a patience man, he wasn't exactly tolerant of those who were different.

"Do you think there will be any fallout over this?" asked Hermione.

"I can't see how there won't be some fallout. Lucius Malfoy is an important person in the ministry and he is on the governing board of Hogwarts. He's not going to let this go away. He's going to want some answers. You know that they will believe that you're somehow involved." replied Harry.

"I'll never admit it to them. Though I like the idea of trying to help them by focusing the attention on someone else." smiled Hermione.

"How are you going to do that? Then again maybe you should excuse yourself completely from it. Just say something like I was so happy that night, I was on cloud nine after the wedding ceremonies.

You were even happier when the Malfoys gave you such a wonderful compliment. You know the one, Mrs. Malfoy thinking that you were cute and adorable and that she wished that you were her own little girl." replied Harry.

"Yeah, that was very nice of her. It's too bad Draco didn't inherit his mother's personality and social graces from her." sighed Hermione.

"Can you explain to me how you know how to do that spell? Why would you want to know how to do it anyway? How did you pull it off?" asked Harry.

"You know how much I like to read and that I spend a lot of time in the library. A couple of years ago when I was doing research on how to solve a problem we were dealing with, I came across a spells and charms book,

The History of Ancient Charms and Spells, in the restricted section of the library. As I read through the book I saw many interesting charms and spells which I noted many, but didn't have the skills for at the time.

Last year with a little help from Professor Snape, but mostly from Professor McGonagall, I mastered them." explained Hermione.

"Professor Snape helped you?" replied Harry shaking his head in disbelief.

"I think he likes the challenge of being able to teach someone who really wants to learn. Many of the spells he was teaching me were more advanced than he usually gets to teach.

I think it invigorated his mind too, to be able to used spells that he hasn't been able to in a long time. Besides it also allows him to show me that he knows more about something than I do. That makes him feel good.

But what makes this particular spell difficult is that it entails three separate parts. The first one is obvious, you need to have the skill and ability to transfigure someone or something into something else. You know how difficult that can be to do.

Secondly you need someone who wants something bad enough to wish for it with all their heart and soul for it. They need to believe that it is possible if they truly want it bad enough. In this case Mrs. Malfoy wanted a little girl.

Mr. Malfoy put a little twist into it because he was thinking about me when I was a twelve year old girl. And finally you have to have someone who doesn't want to be there or not to exist. Enter Draco Malfoy the miserable one.

He didn't want to have anything to do with us getting married. He didn't want to be there that night. He was only there because his parents attended the wedding out of duty." explained Hermione.

"I know you're very good Hermione, but how did you pull it off? You didn't even have your wand with you." queried Harry.

"Everything that was needed to cast the spell was there. It was so perfect, the only thing I needed was to be able to cast the spell without being seen. I kind of got lucky when she pulled me into her arms for a hug.

I whispered to her that if she closed her eyes and wished real hard, her most desired dream could come true. I glanced at Mr. Malfoy and saw that he was looking at her and not at me. I think he was afraid to look at me.

He didn't want his wife to catch him staring at me like a schoolboy. Many have told me that my beauty is intoxicating. I think that anyone else at the table who was listening to the conversation was watching her.

They wanted to see what she would do. I think they all knew of her desire to have a girl. Draco was off in a corner by himself about twenty steps away in the back being miserable as one could be when he wished to be somewhere else.

So when I heard her mumbling, I was sure she was going along with me. I pulled my wand out of my sleeve and silently cast the spell at Draco." explained Hermione smiling.

"You had your wand with you? Why?" asked Harry a little surprised.

"I learned early on that while I was at Hogwarts I would always have my wand on my person. I rather be safe than sorry. You see Harry, the beauty of the spell is, no one can easily reverse it.

First you need to know that it is a wishing spell and then you need to know which spells will work with it. Secondly it's like the Blending Ceremony. Both people involved have to want the spell to be reverse.

Draco has to want to be himself and not a little girl. Mrs. Malfoy has to give up her dream of having a little girl and let Draco be a young man again. Then and only then can the spell be reverse.

But I don't think they are even aware that the spell is a wishing spell. Wishing spells haven't been commonly used in over two hundred years. I don't think they will be able to figure that out on their own." chuckled Hermione.

"I don't see why they wouldn't be able to figure that out. You did have Mrs. Malfoy close her eyes and wish real hard for a little girl." countered Harry.

"True, but like I said it hasn't been in vogue since the beginning of the nineteenth century. No one uses it anymore. There are so many simpler spells capable of doing the same thing.

Therefore they have no reason to think of it. And like I said before it is a difficult spell to master. It's not like you can practice it on someone." smiled Hermione.

Harry smiled as he shook his head in amazement. It was no wonder why they thought she was the most gifted witch ever. She was so smart. She could out think any of them. She was always looking for ways to improve her knowledge and skills.

She was always looking for something that might be of use and give them an edge in the future when they needed something special. He wondered if the other students who were at the wedding were even aware of what had happened to Malfoy.

Many of them had left the reception early to get ready for the trip back to London the next day. Those that had remained were either dancing or on the other side of the room. Their families hadn't said anything.

No one who had stopped in to say hello when they were on the train had said anything about it. Maybe they could stop in at the Burrow on the way back to London and check in with Ron and Ginny. Maybe they heard something about it.


	14. Chapter 14

Title: **************_The Blending 15_**

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

part fourteen The trip back

6 January

The Burrow

Harry and Hermione stopped in at the Burrow on their way back to London. They wanted to see Ron, Ginny, and the Weasleys. The Weasleys were like their extended family. The Weasleys would be happy for them.

They were a little surprised to see Luna there when they arrived. She had never been there before whenever they stayed with the Weasleys. Ron told them she only lived over the hill, through the woods, and on the other side of the lake only a few miles away.

She used to visit them more often when her mother was alive. They talked about the wedding. The Weasleys wished they could have been there to see their wedding. To Ron's chagrin, Luna mentioned how Ron stood there stupefied when Hermione walked down the aisle.

When she passed Ron to reach Harry and he didn't move. He stood there looking the wrong way until Harry nudged him in the ribs to bring him out of his stupor.

Hermione showed them a film of the ceremony. Dumbledore had set the great hall up as a zone where technology was allowed to function. Hermione had explained that it was the custom of muggles to film their weddings.

Mr. Granger had done the honors. They all laughed at Ron as he stood there, but they could all understand why when they saw Hermione walking down the aisle. She was indeed very beautiful. Only the legendary Lady Ravenclaw was rumored to be as beautiful as Hermione.

"It's so nice to see you Harry, Hermione. It's been a long time since we've seen you last. You didn't come for a visit last summer." greeted Mrs. Weasley a little disappointedly.

They were like part of the family to her. When they didn't come it was like a part of her family was missing especially now that all her bots with the exception of Ron had move on with their lives.

"Hermione invited me to stay at her home for a couple of weeks this summer. Uncle allowed me more freedom than usual. He even let me rent a car for a month." smiled Harry.

"I've been telling my parents about Harry for six years. They didn't believe he even existed. They wanted to meet the wonderful man that I have been in love with." explained Hermione.

"She lives in the most amazing house. It's right on the beach. We went for long walks on the beach everyday." smiled Harry.

"I don't remembering you looking so beautiful Hermione." cried Mrs. Weasley.

"It was Harry's gift to me the night we blended. It's how he truly sees me." explained Hermione.

She had changed that night. She had done a lot of thinking about it. Why would she look the way she did if Harry didn't see her that way?

"She probably would have looked like a piece of cheesecake if she had blended with Ron." laughed George and everyone else.

"Did you and Harry really get married?" asked Fred. He was kind of surprise that Hogwarts would allow them to. He also was surprised that Harry and Hermione were really in love. They never gave anyone that impression when he was at Hogwarts.

"It was so beautiful. Ron was the best man and I was the maid of honor." began Luna to a chorus of oohs and ahs from his brothers! "Little Ronny had a girlfriend." It explained why Luna was over at the Burrow everyday this winter.

"Hermione wouldn't let Harry go until Dumbledore promised her that they could get married if that was what she wanted. They had been blended together for three months. It was kind of strange how it happened.

Hermione walked into the room. She looked so happy. She had a dreamlike look on her face when she suddenly began twirling around. I was getting dizzy watching her." Luna rambled on.

"You don't need any help, you're always dizzy." muttered Ron before being whacked in the back of his head by Fred for his rude comment.

"For a moment I thought she was going to faint. Then there was a flash of green and blue flame about twenty feet high. Next thing I know Harry was standing there holding Hermione in his strong arms. I fell back unto my bed." Luna smiled seductively.

"How do you remember all this Luna?" asked George smiling.

"It's a real mystery. She has trouble putting on socks and shoes that match every morning." said Ron with a furrowed brow.

"You look at my shoes and socks Ronny, how sweet." smiled Luna to Ron's regret. Ron moved quickly out of the way before she could kiss him again.

"Besides it only happened a month ago Ronny. It's not something that you can easily forget." argued Luna.

"I wished I could have been there dear. I heard that it was beautiful. Arthur took me to the Cathedral that you had the hall transformed into. It was the most overwhelming experience I ever had. I couldn't imagine getting married any place else looking so grand." wailed Mrs. Weasley.

"Would you like to see the wedding? They allowed my father to record it." asked Hermione.

She took her electronic notepad out of her bag. Everyone crowded around her as she ran the edited version of the wedding. They all shared a laugh when they saw Ron standing there looking like an idiot. He was still looking to the back of the room when Hermione had already walked on by.

"No wonder why you didn't want to blend with Ron, Hermione." said Fred as everyone laughed whiled Ron sulked.

"Oh my word, you look so beautiful. You look like one of those Greek Goddesses that I've seen in those old history books." cried Mrs. Weasley.

"I've heard about muggle weddings and how the bride wears a white wedding gown, but I could never have imagined anything like this. I understand now why thy say a bride looks like an angel. You are very beautiful Hermione." observed Mr. Weasley.

"Thank you both. It was the perfect day, especially when they allowed my parents to attend. It has been the perfect year for me. The only thing I wish is that I could have seen the Blending between Harry and me. They say it was a once in a life time experience." wailed Hermione.

"I understand in muggle society that it is customary to give the happy couple a wedding gift even if you do not attend. We have never had much, but there is something that I would like to give to you." smiled Mr. Weasley.

"That's not necessary Sir. Your friendship and the time we have spent with you family over the years is more than enough." replied Hermione.

"You know how interested I am in muggle technology. Well I came across this small portable movie camera. I managed to get it working in a no technology zone. As you might have forgotten, I was at Hogwarts that night for the blending ceremony.

When Ron was chosen before Draco, Lucius was livid. It made my day. Lucius never likes to lose, especially to me. Thank you Luna.

Hermione, your blending with Harry was the last one of the night and it promised to be very unique. The most gifted witch in the history of Hogwarts and a young very powerful wizard were to be blended. That doesn't happen very often.

It turned out to be very special and I was able to film it. I would like to give it to you as a wedding gift." offered Mr. Weasley.

Hermione took the camera and was able to download the contents of the film onto her notepad. Mr. Weasley looked on with amazement with the ease in which Hermione was able to download the film.

Once that was done they were all able to view the Blending Ceremony together. Only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had viewed the ceremony before. They all marveled at what they saw. The flame had to be at least thirty feet high.

The flame changed colors many times like a kaleidoscope. It was breathtakingly beautiful. It seemed like it went on forever, but it was a little more than ten minutes.

When it was over Hermione appeared standing there taller and more beautiful than ever. She looked so powerful standing there wearing a long white flowing robe. It was hard to take their eyes off her.

"Wow! That was amazing! I'm so glad I got the opportunity to see it." exclaimed Fred.

"That's the most beautiful thing that I've every seen, except for seeing Hermione in her wedding dress." said Luna softly.

"That you Mr. Weasley." said Hermione as she gave him and Mrs. Weasley a big hug. "That was the best wedding present anyone could have given us."

"You're welcome Hermione, but I'm still surprised to hear that. I heard from Lucius Malfoy that his son was transformed into a young preteen girl at your wedding reception." smiled Mr. Weasley.

"This is the first time I've heard anything about it. I was in my own little world that night. Nothing else mattered. I was so happy to be with Harry. I hardly remember anything else.

I do kind of remember Mr. Malfoy telling me that his wife fell in love with me the first time she saw me and wished that I were her little girl. I really appreciated that wonderful compliment." smiled Hermione feigning ignorance.

"Ron was telling me that you were with Mrs. Malfoy when it happened." smiled Mr. Weasley.

"Really? I'm surprised that he was even aware of anything that happened after dinner. He spent most of the night in a corner of the hall in a lip lock with Luna while everyone else was dancing." chuckled Hermione.

"I was not kissing her while everyone else was dancing." whined Ron. Why was she embarrassing him. She knew that his brothers would tease him unmerciful about it until they left for Hogwarts.

"Don't lie Ron. It's alright to like Luna. She is a very special girl." smiled Harry.

Ron hated to be the center of attention, especially when it was the butt of some joke or he was being made fun of by something he might have done. He had been caught up in the moment. He needed to be with someone that night and Luna happened to be there.

It had been a pleasant experience, but he wasn't sure if he wanted anything more from her or that he wanted to be with her. He still thought she was crazy, but like Harry had said, she was sweet in her own special way.

"Why did you tell them that we didn't kiss Ronny. It was a wonderful and special night." whispered Luna.

"You know my brothers. No matter what I do, they will make fun of it even if it was something special for us. I don't want them to make fun of something nice that we shared.

We shared a special night and I don't want them to spoil the memory of it for you." whispered Ron self consciously. He didn't understand why he cared, but he did.

"That's so sweet Ronny, thank you." whispered Luna as she gave him a passionate kiss in front of his family drawing some oohs and ahs from all of them.


	15. Chapter 15

Title: **************_The Blending 15_**

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them

part fifteen Back to school

9 January

Hogwarts

A few days later Harry and Hermione were back at Hogwarts. They were surprised that the news of Malfoy's transformation had spread throughout all the houses so quickly. Everyone was talking about it.

Professor McGonagall wanted to talk to them about Malfoy when they returned. She was curious about what they might know about it. It was rumored that they were with the Malfoys when the transformation occurred.

They of course told her nothing of value. They were more interested in knowing what everyone else knew before they were willing to get involved. They knew having all the information would help them handle the situation better.

All Harry and Hermione would tell Professor McGonagall was that they were making the rounds thanking everyone for attending the wedding and that Mrs. Malfoy wished that she had a daughter liked Hermione.

Over the next two weeks the staff tested Hermione on the skills that she had obtained over her years at Hogwarts through her own independent studies. They were very impressed at how well she did especially when many of those skills weren't used by witches and wizards today.

Some of them hadn't been used in over two hundred years. During this time they also tried to reverse the spell on Malfoy. But unfortunately nothing they tried worked. They were at a lost at what to try next.

The list of possible people who had the skills to turn Malfoy into a young girl was very limited. One of the few that did have the skills was Lucius Malfoy. His wife had always wanted a daughter. Draco had never been considered a man's man.

It was possible that Lucius could have done it. There was no telling what he had learned from Lord Voldemort when they were together. He could be punishing young Malfoy for some unacceptable action he had committed.

Young Malfoy had been a constant underachiever during his time at Hogwarts. But then again Lucius had been very angry when he saw that Draco had been turned into a young girl. So it couldn't have been him, but who then?

Who had the skill? There wasn't anyone on the staff who would do something like that even if some of them wished they could. It was against the policy of the school. Draco had always been a royal pain to many of them since he arrived at Hogwarts six years ago.

But who was responsible then? It wasn't likely that one of the students could have done it. It was advance magic that was well beyond their skill level and it wasn't even taught at Hogwarts.

It took a wizard of great skills to cast this kind of spell if it couldn't be reverse by them. There was Potter and Ms Granger to consider. They were two very highly skilled young people who were well ahead of their peers.

Nothing seemed impossible for them to accomplish. Was it possible that they were capable doing this spell. While Harry was highly skilled, this wasn't an area he had shown a lot of proficiency at. His strength was Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Ms Granger on the other hand was very gifted. If it was possible that a student was capable of casting a spell like this, it would be her. Her knowledge of spells, charms, and transfigurations was vastly superior to anything they had thought was possible.

She already possessed skills that were better than half the wizard population. She was only going to get better in time. She was also very curious beyond a fault. The question that perplexed them the most was, did they really know the full extent of her knowledge and skills?

Did they know what she was really capable of doing? Was she holding back how much she really knew? What other skills had she mastered? Were there other spells and charms that she knew that weren't in her journals?

They had been looking at the pattern of her learning over the years in her journals. They finally noticed that all the skills she learned outside the classroom had been entered into the journal at the completion of each year when the class year was over.

The dates that she learned things didn't match up. They needed to have another talk with her. They needed to know if she was capable of casting this spell. They needed to know if she was holding out on them. They sent a student to get her.

"You may leave Harry, this doesn't concern you, we need to talk with Ms Granger alone." dismissed Dumbledore.

"No Sir, whatever you have to say to my wife you can say to me. We are one." replied Harry. He wasn't going to allow them to intimidate him or Hermione. Though he didn't think that was very likely anymore.

Dumbledore was surprised with Harry's attitude. Harry usually respected his requests. He needed information from Ms Granger. It would be easier to get the information they needed from her if she was alone.

She would be more cooperative. She would be more compliant to his authority. With Harry present it would be more difficult to ask probing questions. She might even let Harry do all the talking.

"Very well Harry, you can stay. We need to talk to you Ms Granger about an incident that occurred during your reception. We need to talk to you about what happened to Malfoy and what you know about it.

We have been unable to reverse the spell. We have tried many spells without success. Of course it would help if we knew what the spell was. What can you tell us about it Ms Granger?" asked Dumbledore.

"Sir, we have already told you that we don't know anything about what happened. Hermione and I were making the rounds to thank everyone for attending the wedding. We know nothing more about what happened to Malfoy.

You cannot suspect that one of us is capable of casting a spell that you, the greatest of all wizards, can't break." said Harry in a smirking tone.

Dumbledore was confounded and shocked that Harry would not only challenge their ability, but also their ability to reason and solve a problem.

"We weren't implying anything Harry. We were hoping that you could help us. You were there talking to his parents when the spell was cast. We thought that you might be able to tell us something that we might have missed or overlooked." explained McGonagall.

"As I have told you before. Mrs. Malfoy complimented Hermione on how beautiful she looked. Mr. Malfoy then mentioned that his wife had fallen in love with how cute and adorable Hermione was when she was eleven. She wished that Hermione was her own little girl." answered Harry.

"I was feeling pretty special after I married Harry. When the Malfoys gave me such a wonderful compliment I was on cloud nine. I wanted to shared that happiness with her and that's when we shared a hug.

While we hugged I said if she closed her eyes and wish really hard for what she wanted most in the world and if she really believed that it was possible, it would come true." added Hermione.

"So you did cast the spell Ms Granger." stated Snape with a snarl. She had just admitted to casting the spell he thought.

"I didn't say that. What I did was set the mood for her. It was Christmas eve, it's the most magical night of the year. Anything can happen if you really believe. I thought they would go somewhere quiet and romantic.

You know make a little love and create a baby. You see, more babies are born nine months after someone attends a wedding in the real world than at any other time." countered Hermione. She didn't know if it was true, but it sure sounded good.

"That sounds plausible. You did look very happy when I saw you that night. You didn't leave Harry's arm all night. It would make sense that you would want everyone to be as happy as you were." agreed McGonagall.

Snape couldn't believe all the drivel he was hearing. Surely Dumbledore didn't believe any of the dribble.

"Which brings me to why I brought this book with me. I have been reading through it whenever I have had some free time. I remember reading about a wishing spell." smiled Hermione. It was time for her to bait the hook.

"That book is from the restricted section of the library Ms Granger. You're not supposed to be in that part of the library without permission." scolded McGonagall.

"All the interesting books are in that section professor. Being able to read books from that section has allowed us to defeat Lord Voldemort several times. It's the only way to becoming a better witch or wizard. One must be able to challenge oneself to be better professor.

One must be able to take what one has learn and apply it to more challenging spells and charms." explained Hermione with a smile. Must she explain everything to these dimwitted people. They were supposed to be intelligent.

"So what did you discover Ms Granger?" asked Dumbledore hoping to move the proceedings along.

Arguing whether or not she should have been in the restricted area was not going to solve anything. He did like Ms Granger's attitude about challenging herself to be better. He wished everyone felt that way.

"There was a wishing spell that was popular in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. It fell out of favor in the early 1800's. It is a very difficult spell to master and cast because there are so many variables that have to be present at the appropriate time.

The first part entails that all the planets and the moon have to be in alignment. The second part is the wish component. You have to have a person who really wants something more than anything else in the world.

They have to make a wish while the spell is being cast. They have to believe that the wish can be fulfilled. It is also possible that the wish can be affected by another person if they are in close proximity to the one making the wish.

Finally you have to have a person who wishes that they don't exist or at the very least doesn't want to be there." explained Hermione.

They all listened very carefully as Hermione read from the book. They could see the picture she was painting for them. The Malfoys resembled that picture the night of the wedding.

One thought Hermione had was why hadn't they bothered to research all the possible spells? It should have been a no brainer to search out all the possibilities. Hadn't they learned anything from reading her journals the last two months?

If she wanted to know something about a particular subject or how to do something, she would have researched it by any and all means possible. She would have found the information she needed in a book somewhere.

If they really thought that she had been the one to cast the spell, but didn't know what the spell was themselves, then they should try to think the way she thought. They should have gone to the library to see what books she had checked out and check each of them for the most likely spell.

"All the planets in the sky and the moon were in alignment that night. It was one of the reasons why I chose to get married that night and not some other night. Mrs. Malfoy was wishing for a little girl while Mr. Malfoy was probably thinking let her be at least twelve years old.

And finally we all know that Draco didn't want to be there. It was probably why he was the one to be turned into a twelve year old girl instead of someone else." said Hermione with a sense of satisfaction.

Dumbledore was impressed with her analytical skills. He wondered what else she thought about the situation.

"Does it say how to reverse the spell in the book Ms Granger?" asked Dumbledore.

"I'm not sure that I understand what it says here. It isn't supposed to be a difficult spell to break. It does say here though that one of the difficulties of breaking the spell may be that one of the persons involved doesn't want the spell broken. Sort of similar to what happened to Harry and I when we were blended." replied Hermione.

"What are you trying to say Ms Granger?" asked Snape. He was getting tired of this. She was making them look like fools.

"I think what Ms Granger is trying to say is that either young Malfoy likes his new life as a girl or his mother isn't ready to give up a daughter that she has always wanted." answered McGonagall.

"Maybe both." smiled Hermione to the surprised of the others.

"What do you mean Ms Granger?" asked McGonagall.

"If you look at what Draco has gained by the experience. He hasn't returned to school. You know how much he was bored being here. He doesn't like to be in the classroom. That means he won't have to finish out the school year.

He will be able to avoid all the people he doesn't like. If he does come back next year, it will be as a twelve year old girl. All the people he doesn't like will be gone. He gets to start over again. He will do much better in class.

Maybe as a girl he will go unnoticed while he is here. Less will be expected of him since he won't be the son of Lucius Malfoy anymore. Maybe his father is punishing him for not living up to the Malfoy name.

Maybe he's getting more attention from his mother and he likes it. Maybe his mother isn't ready to stop fawning over having a little girl." smiled Hermione.

Snape couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Malfoy running around the manor like a silly little girl all dressed up in pretty little dresses and petticoats. He could see his mother dressing him from head to toe in little girl's garments and Lucius helpless to stop it.

"There is a list of spells in the book that should revere the spell if all parties are amendable." offered Hermione.

Dumbledore was amazed at the thought process of Ms Granger. She had determined what kind of spell it was. She had explained all the conditions and how they had been met.

She provided a way to remove the spell and explained why the spell hadn't been reverse. Was it a wonder why she was the most gifted student to have ever attended Hogwarts?

"Just how many of the spells and charms in this book do you know how to do Ms Granger?" asked McGonagall.

She was quite sure that Ms Granger had a thorough knowledge of many of the spells and charms from this book. She had proven that she was well ahead of them in this cat and mouse game they appear to be playing. How much more did she know? What was the extent of her abilities?

"You have read my journals." replied Hermione.

"Yes Ms Granger, I have. I have also noticed that you don't fill in your journals with what you have learned independently until the end of the school year. Your journals also doesn't include what you have learned this year." stated McGonagall causing Hermione to smile. Maybe there was hope for the old woman yet.

"I don't know the exact number of spells and charms I have learned from this particular book. I began learning spells and charms from this book when I was only twelve years old.

I have read through the book more than a few times since learning new spells and charms as the need for them arose or whenever I developed the ability to do them.

But if I had to guess, I would say I know how to do about seventy percent of the spells and charms in the book. Harry probably can do about fifty percent of them." replied Hermione.

Once again there was a stunned look of surprise and shock on their faces that amused her. While they didn't know all the spells and charms in the book, they knew it contained some of the most advanced and very difficult spells and charms in existence.

It was more of a reference book to be of use when necessary. No one was expected to know all the spells and charms in the book. Her list of accomplishments was indeed very great.

Harry and Hermione made their way back to Gryffindor common area after the interrogation. They left the staff more confused than ever. They left the staff wondering what was the full extent of their knowledge and ability.

They had moved on to the next phase of the misadventures of Draco Malfoy and the inability of those who thought they were better, to solve a simple problem. It was their lack of effort that amused them the most.


	16. Chapter 16

Title: **************_The Blending 15_**

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them.

part sixteen What's can I say lover boy

15 January

Gryffindor

Common area

Harry and Hermione were in the common area going over what they had learned in class today and preparing for class the next day. Hermione looked up when she heard Ron calling out their names.

She wondered what was up that had him so excited. They were on speaking terms again for some reason that she didn't really understand and only Ron knew the real reason why. She was glad that he was speaking to them again because it made life easier and more pleasant.

They could do what they wanted to do without worrying about avoiding the other. There was less turmoil to deal with and Harry wouldn't be caught in the middle of it. Maybe it was because Harry was back that had Ron behaving more normally.

"Harry! Hermione!" shouted Ron as he came into the room excitedly.

He had the scoop about who was responsible for Malfoy being turned into a twelve year old girl. He had been surprised to hear about it. He had been the best man at the wedding when it happened.

Why didn't he know anything about it? Well, he did know the reason why, he had spent most of the night after dinner alone with Luna. She was looking very nice that particular night. She smelled really nice too.

She had a special look in her eyes that drew him to her, he couldn't resist the temptation of kissing her over and over again. She had led them to a secluded corner in the room and they spent hours doing nothing but kissing each other tenderly at first before they became more and more passionate.

There was a lot of touching and caressing. They weren't aware of anything else until Harry and Hermione found them to say goodnight and to tell them that they were leaving. It was a night that turned out to be much more pleasant than he could have hoped for,

but unfortunately for him Luna thought more of their night of passion than he did. She thought he liked her more than he really did. He had only gotten caught up in the moment. He didn't love her.

It was a wonderful moment, it was very special, but it was only a moment just the same. To his chagrin his life was about to change. Luna decided to come over to his house everyday during winter break.

Ginny and her mother enjoyed having Luna over to their house. Luna used to be over their house all the time before her mother died. They didn't understand why after so many years she decided to visit them now.

They wondered at first what was the reason. Ginny and Luna didn't hang out together at school. They were in totally different cliques. Why then? Ginny was part of the popular crowd. Luna was part of the misfits.

Ron was glad that he told Luna not to say anything about the time they spent together at the wedding. He told her that they would expect too much from them. He was afraid that his family would tease them. He wanted to keep it their own little secret.

He did his best to avoid her while she visited , but unfortunately Luna usually stayed at the Burrow until well after dinner which forced Ron to walk her home every night for it was the gentlemanly thing to do.

It wasn't so bad because they would stop along the river and spend a half hour or so kissing and caressing each other. While he enjoyed kissing her, he was afraid that it was leading them in a direction that he didn't really want to go.

He was afraid that eventually Luna would want more from him. That eventually she would tell everyone about their night time activities. He didn't love her. He really didn't like hanging out with her very much.

He was afraid that if he didn't nip what was between them in the bud soon, he would be in serious trouble when they got back to school. Their relationship would get too serious and he wouldn't be able to get out gracefully.

His mother and Ginny however suspected that there was more going on between them than what Ron was letting on. They knew how long it should take Ron to walk Luna home and then walk back. It usually took him at least an hour longer than it should.

They wondered what he could be doing. What was taking him so long? Ginny decided to follow them back to her house one night. She couldn't believe how slowly they were walking. Ron didn't seem to be upset at all.

She thought that must be the reason Ron was always late. She was about to turn around and head back home when she saw them stop and sit down by the water's edge. She wondered why they were that.

Ron had been telling her for three years that he didn't like her. His actions in the past had confirmed that fact. Why then was he spending more time with her than he had to? What was there for them to talk about?

She snuck up closer to them and was horrified to see them kissing and fawning each other quite intensely. She almost puked, but was able to maintain her composure long enough to run home and tell her mother what she had seen.

She was puzzled though when all her mother did was smile and said "He is seventeen Ginny. What did you think he was doing when he walked her home? Luna is a sweet and pretty girl. She probably bewitched him at the wedding and he can't help himself." as if that was supposed to mean something to Ginny.

"Did you really turn Malfoy into a girl? How did you do it? How come you haven't turned him back?" asked Ron excitedly.

"Are you speaking to me now?" asked Hermione looking for confirmation. She feign a surprised and shocked look.

"What?" responded Ron as if not understanding why she said what she said.

"You didn't speak to me for almost three months last fall. What has changed? Why are you speaking to me now?" asked Hermione.

"He's in love Hermione. Ginny told me that Ron and Luna spent part of every night together during winter break kissing and fawning." teased Harry.

"I didn't spend the night with Luna. I just walked her home." sulked Ron.

"She came over to visit Ginny everyday and Mom asked me to walk her home at night." Ron tried to explain.

"Ha! That's not Luna told me Ron. She told me she came over everyday to see you and that you volunteered to walk her home so that you could make out and play touchy feely with her." countered Hermione. She felt like laughing at his discomfort.

"For someone who says he doesn't like her, you were spending thirty minutes every night kissing her." laughed Harry.

Ron was flustered. He didn't want to talk about his perceived love life. He wanted to talk to them about what happened to Malfoy last month. Malfoy had been turned into a twelve year old girl. How had the conversation become about him and what he did with Luna?

He had been waiting six years for something to happen to Malfoy. Now that something had happened, they didn't want to talk with him about it. He hated the conceited pompous ass. Malfoy thought he was better than everyone else because his father had a higher position in the ministry.

He was about to respond, to deny everything when Luna walked into the room. She had been up in her room studying. She was hoping to see Ron in the common area so they could go to dinner together. She was pleased to see him there with her friends.

She walked over to him and gave him a somewhat passionate kiss causing everyone in the room to whistle. Ronald Weasley finally had gotten himself a girl. Hermione could see the changes in Luna.

She was no longer the shy quiet reserved girl she had known the last few years. Her whole demeanor had change. She was happy, more out going. She was a sexual vixen. Maybe her friends could be as happy together as she and Harry were.

Ron felt like panicking even though he found it hard to break away from her and the kiss. He did like kissing her, but why was she doing it in front of everyone. He had told her that he wanted to keep their new found relationship a secret.

"Hi Ronny!" greeted Luna.

"Hi Luni." acknowledged Ron a bit embarrassed.

"What's up? Are you ready to go to dinner?" asked Luna.

"We were talking about what happened to Malfoy on Christmas Eve." replied Ron hoping to get the conversation back to what he wanted to talk about.

"What happened to Malfoy? I haven't seen him since we got back." asked Luna.

"That's because you and Ron have been taking long walks around the lake and making out." smiled Harry.

"We're very happy for you and Ron. You make a cute couple Luna. We can see how much he makes you happy." smiled Hermione.

Once again they had digressed and were talking about him and his perceived relationship with Luna instead of talking about what happened to Malfoy. Why couldn't they stay on topic? Why couldn't they respect his privacy? Why were they doing this to him in front of everyone?

"It's nice to see Ron happy too. He looked so miserable last year. I'm glad that he has you in his life now." observed Harry.

They enjoyed seeing Ron squirmed. He was always complaining that he was the neglected one. He was always crying for attention. Why was he shirking from it now when he was the center of attention?

"Can we stop talking about me and talk about what happened to Malfoy?" pleaded Ron.

"Ooh! I heard about that. One of the girls from Slytherin told me she had visited him at his house over the break. He looks so cute as a little girl. His mother plays with him as though he was a Victorian doll. She changes him several times a day." offered Luna.

"You were there Ron when it happened. It happened during the reception. What were you doing that you didn't see it happen? Harry asked you to keep an eye on Draco that night." smiled Hermione.

"He was kissing me!" exclaimed Luna cheerfully.

"Is he a good kisser? Ginny told me he didn't know how to kiss a girl." smiled Harry.

"Most of us wondered if he even liked girls, especially since he didn't stay blended to you for very long last fall." added Hermione.

"She must have made an impression on him, they're lovers now." laughed Harry causing Ron even more embarrassment. His face was redder than his hair now.

Why were they talking about him again he whined to himself? Why were they trying to embarrass him? Why were they encouraging her and her silly feelings?

"How did you do it Hermione?" asked Ron hoping to change the topic back to Malfoy and not him.

"I told Harry that I loved him. The rest took care of itself. It's not as bad if you happen to like who you're kissing Ron." replied Hermione with a smile. She knew Ron wasn't talking about kissing.

"You just do what feels good. Why Ron, are you in love?" teased Harry causing Ron to turn redder than the color of his hair.

Once again he left the common area in a huff. He had to get out of there. No one was listening to him. They didn't care about what he wanted to talk about. Why did he even bother?

"What's wrong with Ron? I thought he liked to be the center of attention." asked Harry.

"I don't know if he likes to be the center of attention as much as he likes to be included in what is going on. He doesn't like to be neglected or ignored." explained Luna.

"But we weren't ignoring him Luna. We were including him in our discussion about how to make someone happy." smiled Hermione.

"I think in this case he wanted to be included in the Malfoy situation. You have been his best friends for a long time and done so much together. I think he misses that part of your friendship." replied Luna.

"I don't know, he seemed to be enjoying the kiss you two were sharing a few minutes ago. If he wanted to talk about Malfoy, he shouldn't be making out with you in the common area." smiled Hermione

"Besides, the less he knows about Malfoy, the better it will be for him. Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore are on the warpath. They have been asking a lot of questions that no one has any answers for.

We don't really know anything about it. We were talking with his parents when it happened. Hermione was too happy that night to be thinking or worrying about what Malfoy was doing." instructed Harry.

"No one saw you or Ron after dinner. Maybe they think you did it." laughed Hermione.

"So what did happen to Malfoy?" asked Luna.

"Seriously, all we can tell you is we were making the rounds thanking everyone for attending the wedding. We expressed surprised that someone as important as Lucius Malfoy and his wife would bother to attend our wedding." said Hermione.

"He said it was the curse of being on the Board of Governors of Hogwarts. You had to attend many functions even when you're not so incline. Then he proceeded to tell us that his wife loves weddings and that she has always loved Hermione since the first time she saw her when she was only eleven.

She thought Hermione was the cutest and most adorable little girl she had ever seen. She liked the way her eyes lit up and how big her smile got when she was happy. She always wished that she had a little girl like Hermione." grinned Harry.

"She told me how beautiful and happy I looked. I gave her a hug to show her my appreciation for such a wonderful complement. The next thing I knew Malfoy was calling for his mommy." smiled Hermione.

"You and Ron were in some corner of the room making out. I thought you two didn't get along." smiled Harry.

"I cornered him a few times and kissed him. I think he really likes kissing. Since you haven't been around Harry and it was obvious even to Ron that Hermione preferred you to him, there wasn't any reason for him to avoid me anymore. He's not a bad kisser. He does take direction quite well." smiled Luna.

"I'm so happy for you Luna. I think you make a nice couple. You've known each other all your lives. There can't be any unrealistic expectations." congratulated Hermione.

"How so?" asked Luna.

"While he might have liked me because I was always around and therefore easier to talk to, our worlds are completely different. Ron is who he is. He doesn't have any great ambitions in life. Which is okay if living in the Burrow is all you want from life.

But I want a lot more out of life. I think Harry does too. We grew up in the real world. More is expected from you. We don't shirk from challenges. Besides, we make each other happy just being together. We don't have to do anything. We just love each other." explained Hermione.

"That's wonderful. I hope I can have that someday whether it's with Ron or someone else." sighed Luna.

"You can Luna, if that is what you really want and aren't willing to settle for anything less." replied Hermione.


	17. Chapter 17

Title: **************_The Blending 15_**

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them.

part seventeen The visit

30 January

Malfoy Manor

It had been more than a month since Draco's unfortunate transformation. Narcissa spent most of her days with him. She began calling him Darla, a name she had hoped to call her daughter if she ever had one.

She spent part of everyday teaching Darla everything she would need to know to be a twelve year old girl and the changes that were to come, that is the changes to her body within the next year or two.

After the initial shock had worn off and realization of the situation had sunk in, Draco allowed his mother to pamper him. He had always liked the attention that she gave him, but was disappointed when his father told him to stop acting like a spoil little girl and be a man.

Lucius didn't like the idea of a mother coddling her son past a certain age. It retarded his growth and his ability to become a man. While Draco wasn't keen about being a girl, it did open up a whole new world of possibilities for him.

He would have another five years at Hogwarts. He wouldn't have to study hard because he already knew most of the stuff. It would be another five years before anything would be expected from him.

He wasn't ready to live in the adult world of tedious boredom. He had gone into work with father more than a few times. He had watched his father work and didn't really care much for it except when his father would berate a subordinate for not doing his job well and promptly.

Besides, he liked the attention his mother was giving him. There was more physical intimacy between them. Of course he would have prefer that she not change his clothes every few hours. He couldn't understand why she did that.

It seemed to him that women of society were expected to wear different clothing depending upon the time of the day. He wasn't aware of that while he was at Hogwarts though he did noticed that the girls usually did change for dinner and then again afterwards.

What else had he missed out on about the ladies when he was at school. He began to wonder why he had spent so much time with Goyle and Crabble. Surely teasing a young lady about her choice in clothing would have been more interesting and entertaining.

He thought about the girls at Hogwarts. The only one that came to mind was Hermione. He figured that was because like Potter, she craved to be the center of attention. She was beautiful like his mother.

He had never thought about her as being beautiful, but then again he never considered her ugly either. She had become very beautiful, but he didn't know when that had happened. She did arouse feelings in him that he didn't even know existed before. It was a feeling he liked.

"You shouldn't be coddling him like that Narcissa. How's he supposed to become a man if you keep doing that to him?" whined Lucius. It was sickening to see what she was doing to his son.

"She's my baby. You had him for seventeen years to do as you please with him. As long as she is here I will do with her as I like. She likes the attention I give her. I'm not going to stop." Narcissa declared.

Lucius walked away grumbling. There was no sense in arguing with her when she was this way. He hated the idea that his son was now a girl and his wife was coddling him as if he was a little girl. What next! Would she have him playing with dolls and having tea parties with them.

1 February

Malfoy Manor

After finding out what he thought was the truth, Snape paid Lucius Malfoy a visit. Lucius had been a friend and mentor since they were students in school together and when Lucius took him under his wing.

He was thoroughly convinced that Ms Granger was the one who had cast the spell on Draco. Her knowledge of where to find the spell and the details that it entailed was too much to be overlooked in his opinion.

She certainly had enough motive. She and Potter never got along with young Malfoy. They were rivals so to speak. He just wondered why she cast the spell on the day of her wedding. He did understand why she did it.

He also wondered how it was even possible for her to master it. It wasn't a spell that was very easy to learn. You needed help in mastering it. He was confident however that she hadn't planned on casting the spell that night.

She had no way of knowing that the Malfoys would be in attendance for her wedding. He also knew she had been focusing on getting married to Potter since the blending ended. She had wanted to be with him since their first year together.

They had been joined together twice before though for only ceremonial purposes. He had always found it to be amusing, but he guess in the end they were sincere in how they really felt about each other.

"Severus, what brings you here old friend?" Lucius greeted his friend. It wasn't often that he saw his old friend unless he went to Hogwarts on some official business.

"Hello Lucius, we have finally determined what the spell is thanks to Ms Granger." answered Snape.

"Can the spell be reversed so that I can get my life back?" asked Lucius anxiously.

"After our talk with Ms Granger, err ... Potter. She told us about the Wishing Spell. Are you familiar with a book titled A History of Ancient Spells and Charms?" asked Snape.

"Yes, I have a copy of the book in my library. I reference it from time to time." replied Lucius.

"The Wishing Spell is one of the most complex spells in the book. She explained all the conditions that were needed for the spell and how they were met." Snape began to explain.

"I seriously doubt that she cast the spell Severus. She's only a child. She had more important things on her mind that night. I'm quite sure transforming Draco into a girl was the last thing on her mind." smiled Lucius.

"I wouldn't underestimate her abilities Lucius. She's very smart and gifted. As you well know she has the highest magical rating a student has ever attained at Hogwarts. She wasn't even satisfied with the rating we gave her.

She believes it should have been much higher reflecting her true abilities and what she actually knows. She gave us more than a few journals to ponder over. They illustrate the skills she believes that she has mastered while she has been at Hogwarts.

They are very impressive. Her rating has since improved to 10640. She has rewritten the book so to speak on how to make potions that are purer and more potent. In the book we were speaking of earlier, how many of those spells can you do?" asked Snape.

"I don't really know Severus. I don't use them very often. There are a lot more simpler spells that can be use to accomplish the same outcomes. There are a lot of spells in that book I have no interest in. But if I had to guess I would say about thirty to thirty five percent." replied Lucius shrugging his shoulders.

"Ms Granger told us that Potter has mastered more than fifty percent of them and that she has mastered more than seventy percent of the spells and charms in the book. She's the most gifted witch alive Lucius." explained Snape.

"I'm well aware of that declaration Severus." sighed Lucius.

"Well consider this then, when we reviewed her journals and compared it to the book, it only accounts for about forty percent of the spells and charms in the book. She says she knows seventy percent of them.

We don't really know the full extent of her knowledge of witchcraft. There are other books of advance magic that she's quite familiar with too. We're concerned with how much more she knows and hasn't bothered to tell us about.

With what she has learned this year in school and all the other possibilities, we believe she will have a magical rating well over 12,000." snarled Snape.

It was no wonder why his wife had fallen in love with Hermione. She must have seen something in her that no one else had. It went beyond being cute and adorable. She had told him from the beginning that Hermione had a bright and curious mind. Hermione was definitely excited about learning.

"While that all sounds very interesting Severus, why should I even care?" asked Lucius.

He really didn't understand how she could have obtained so much knowledge at such a tender age. It didn't seem possible.

"I believe that she's the only one capable of performing that spell and knows why it couldn't be reversed. We have used the right spells to reverse the spell. They didn't work because either Draco or Narcissa didn't want the spell reversed." replied Snape.

"That's not really a revelation Severus. I kind of figured that out myself. You should see Narcissa with her. If it wasn't so amusing it would be pathetic. She dresses him three or four times a day as if he was only a four years old child.

She applies lotions and fragrances to his skin twice a day. I even think she's been putting makeup on him. I don't know how he puts up with all of it. I know he's always been a mama's boy, but still ..... " replied Lucius shaking his head.

"I just don't believe that she cast the spell Severus. She was too happy that night to be casting spells on Draco. Whoever cast the spell was being spiteful and vindictive. Narcissa and Ms Granger were sharing a very special tender moment together.

They were in the middle of an embrace when it happened. There was no way she could have cast that spell. I was only few feet away from them. I would have seen her if she had cast the spell." replied Lucius.

"Then I'm at a lost to who could have possibly cast the spell. No other student has the ability and no member of the staff would dare do it." moaned Snape.

2 February

McGonagall called Harry and Hermione into her office. She had the results of the tests they had taken to demonstrate their additional skills. Hermione was very excited to hear the results.

Harry really didn't care. He didn't like the idea of people knowing his real capabilities. He didn't want them expecting too much from him. And like his Uncle Vernon told him many times, "Don't let people know how smart you are."

"We have the results of your skills test. The extra work and additional knowledge gained by both of you is quite impressive, especially by you Ms Potter. We are reexamining how we teach students. Obviously we can challenge them more. We can begin teaching more advance magic at a younger age." said McGonagall

"I don't know about that. I've always found the workload quite challenging. Anything else that I have learned over the years was out of necessity because of Lord Voldemort. Even then Hermione was responsible for me learning most of it. She did most of the work.

Hermione is a genius. Her IQ is so much higher than everyone else's. Her ability to learn is a lot greater than the rest of us. She reads books in her leisure time in a week that most of us would have difficulty completing in a semester." countered Harry.

"Your concerns are valid Mr. Potter, but I've been around here long enough to know that most students will skate if you let them. They are more than capable of meeting the challenges that are thrown at them.

Look at what you did two years ago when Umbridge was here. You taught many students defensive spells that were well beyond their years. More importantly I believe that it's Ms Granger's preparations that leads to her success.

She knows the material that is going to be taught. If she has a question she is ready to ask it and the question will get answered. Whereas most of the students don't have a clue as to what questions to ask because they don't know what is being taught.

They spend their time in class trying to figure out what is being taught, not whether or not they know it. They aren't ready to ask the questions that need to be ask." answered McGonagall.

"Thank you professor." replied Hermione.

"As for your results Harry, your magical rating has improved to 8575. Congratulation Harry, you're now officially the highest rated wizard ever to have attended Hogwarts." informed McGonagall.

"That's wonderful Harry!" exclaimed Hermione as she gave him a hug and kiss.

"As for you Hermione, your rating has improved to 10640. Though I believe after our discussions over the last few weeks, I'm sure that number may be much too low. Considering that you wanted us to give you an accurate assessment of your magical rating based on your true knowledge of witchcraft." concluded McGonagall.

"The journals I gave to you were based on our first six years professor. You had assigned to me a rating based on my first six years here at Hogwarts. I don't understand why you would think I would stop learning in year seven.

I would have thought that you would expect more from me. My desire to learn wasn't diminished just because Harry and I were together." replied Hermione.

"My apologies to you Ms Granger, you're absolutely right. I think my reaction is left over frustration of what happened to Mr. Malfoy and not being able to resolve it.

What we need to do in the future is to have you fill out a list of your accomplishments like the ministry does with older witches and wizards who are no longer in school.

Each skill has an assign value to it. I wouldn't be surprised if you will top 12,000 for your magical rating by the end of the year Ms Granger." expressed McGonagall.

10 March

Hermione always wondered why it was so difficult for some of the students to master the tasks and skills that they were being taught. On one level she understood why she did so well.

She always credited her preparation. She read over the material several times before class so that if she didn't understand something she was ready to asked the pertinent question when it came up. She wouldn't be in a fog like Ron.

It always amazed her that he wouldn't do the work that was necessary to be successful. Even Harry started reading the material before hand so that he was more aware of what was being taught in class. He was able to master the tasks much easier and quicker now.

Ron however, continued to struggle since he did as little preparation as possible. Hoping that the others would take pity on him and do most of his work for him. Eventually he would learned what he needed to learn, but he made it more difficult than was necessary.

Hermione had taken a Psychology class over the summer when she was fifteen. She found the subject fascinating as she could relate what she was reading to her classmates, especially Ron, Luna, Neville, and Malfoy.

In fact it was her reading about Psychology and how it pertained to Malfoy that led her to learn about the wishing spell in the first place. Later she read a textbook on Development Psychology. She found it fascinating too.

She decided to give the books to Snape. He always seemed to have difficulties dealing with less than the ideal students.

"Sir, I have a couple of books that I think you might find interesting." said Hermione as she handed Professor Snape the text books.

"What's this?" asked Snape with a sneer.

"Books on Psychology. They are about understanding the teenage mind." replied Hermione.

"What makes you think that I don't already know how the teenage mind works Ms Granger?" asked Snape.

He knew it was a bad idea to let her know how smart she really was. Was there any limit to her condescension? He did find the topic of their discussion amusing however. He was interested in what she was going to say.

"I'm sure you know quite a bit since you have been teaching students for many years. I just thought that you might find these books interesting to read. They might confirm some of the things that you already know,

but it might also make you aware of other things you didn't. One of the things I found interesting was the age that some skills are learned." offered Hermione.

"That's why some courses or skills aren't taught until year four or five, Ms Granger. While you may be able to learn anything at any given age, there are more students like Weasley and Longbottom who don't. They seem to struggle even with the simplest tasks." replied Snape.

"You seem to be a person who's interested in human behavior. The study of human behavior in the muggle world is called Psychology. It's the reason why I thought it might be interesting reading for you." observed Hermione.


	18. Chapter 18

Title: **************_The Blending 15_**

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them.

part seventeen The visit

part eighteen

5 April

Classroom

One of the last classes Hermione and Harry took together was muggle studies. They were interested in seeing how the wizard world perceived the real world. They were more than a little disappointed in how the class was being taught.

Then again they weren't really surprised either since the instructor had to be at least seventy years old and probably hadn't been to the real world since she was a teenager. She was old by their standards, but young by wizard standards.

For some reason wizards and witches lived much longer than most normal people. The average age for them was nearly one hundred and twenty years. They usually didn't slow down until well after one hundred.

Harry and Hermione decided to talk to Professor Cornmeister about teaching a class about where technology was in this day and age. What she was teaching was prevalent in 1950's, that was over fifty years ago.

"Professor Cornmeister, would you mind if we ask you when was the last time you visited the real world. Harry and I have grown up in the real world. It's where we lived every summer. I don't recognize this world that you're teaching us about.

The world isn't like this anymore. If you don't mind Harry and I world like to show the class what the real world is like today. The world outside is changing so fast. Even Harry and I sometimes have a hard time keeping up." asked Hermione.

"I have to admit it's been longer than I care to admit. I think you both know that the Ministry likes to keep interaction between muggles and wizards to a minimum. There was a time when muggles would kill wizards and witches.

In recent years I believe that the Ministry is afraid of wizards abandoning the wizard world to live in the muggle world. There is supposed to be far more conveniences to make life easier." replied Professor Cornmeister.

"That's quite true professor. I have visited Ron at his family's residence. It's a very quaint existence from another age. They haven't lived like that in the real world in almost ninety years. We have many appliance that can do the work in a few minutes that take much longer in the wizard world." offered Harry.

"There is always magic. One can do everything in a manner of a few minutes with magic." replied Professor Cornmeister.

"That's just it Ma'am, with today's technology you can do it quicker than you can with magic. Everything is almost instantaneous now. Push a few buttons and you have your results." countered Hermione.

"We don't want to show you up professor, but we think the school has an obligation to show the students the truth about the real world, not hide its head in the sand." added Harry.

"Very well then. Would next week give you enough time to prepare to teach a class Ms Granger?" asked Professor Cornmeister.

"Yes Ma'am, it should." replied Hermione with a smile.

15 April

classroom

Harry and Hermione took a field trip to London to get the things they were going to need for the class they were going to teach. There was so much that they could show the other students, but they decided on kitchen appliances and technology dealing with communications and knowledge.

They hired a small plane to take everything to Hogwarts. The plane landed on the Quidditch field since it was the only place large enough and flat enough for the plane to land and take off afterwards. They had Haggard take everything up to the classroom and help them set things up.

"Now that we have everything here and it's all set up, how are we going to get it to work? We're in a no high tech zone." asked a confused Harry.

"Harry, everything will work fine. All I have to do is make a hole in the barrier." replied Hermione.

"You can do that?" asked Harry.

"Of course I can Harry. It's not very hard to do. They just don't want the distractions that the modern world can bring. Think about it Harry. Ron finds it hard enough to study even when he has nothing else to do. What would you think he would do if he had a TV or radio to occupy his time? He would never get any work done." smiled Hermione.

"Just how long have you been able to do this and do any of the professors know that you're capable of doing it." asked Harry in amazement.

"I was able to breakthrough in year five. I had forgotten that I had my iPod in my bag when I came back. I thought it would be nice to listen to some tunes so I cast a spell towards the barrier to make it disappear.

I punched a small hole in it large enough to listen to my iPod in my room. As time went on I was able to make the hole larger so that Fred and George could have their special parties. Now I can make one as big as I need to." smiled Hermione.

17 April

Classroom

Eighty students from the various houses had arrived in the classroom for Muggle studies. They were surprised to see so much technology that they hadn't seen before.

Harry and Hermione were standing at the front of the classroom where the instructor usually stood. They all wondered what was going on. What did Harry and Hermione want?

"Good afternoon everyone. For the next couple of days Harry and I will be your instructors for Muggle studies. As many of you may know Harry and I grew up in the Muggle world and were raised by Muggles. Each year we spend our summers in the Muggle world living as Muggles." began Hermione.

"And as such we are more than aware of what is being taught here, while essential, is hardly an accurate representation of what technology is like in the real world today. What they teach here is at least fifty years old. The world has moved on at a rapid pace." added Harry.

"What we hope to show you here over the next couple of days is a glimpse into what the world is really like. The magic of the Muggle worlds goes far beyond the imagination. Their magic makes ours look medieval.

As most of you know Hogwarts is a technology free zone. No technology can work here. Yet you can see much technology here. You may wonder why is it here then if it doesn't work?

I have created a hole in the technology free zone in this classroom for the purposes of demonstrating how new technology works today." continued Hermione.

Professor Cornmeister was a bit surprised to hear this information since not many people had the capability of reversing Dumbledore's magic. But then again Dumbledore had informed her in one of their staff meetings the last few months that Ms Granger's knowledge was well beyond what was taught in the classroom.

She had mastered many skills not taught at Hogwarts. If she became aware of any of them she should let him know. Harry turned on the fifty seven inched Plasma TV and the DVD player. On the screen came a sports program.

"This is what a TV looks like today. As you can see it's much larger than what you might have seen here in class. It is also less bulky. It is only four inches thick. Of course some of them can be a quarter the size of this one." smiled Harry.

"One of its purposes is to watch TV programming. What is programming you ask? It can be almost anything. Mainly programming is for entertainment purposes. It can also be use for education and news of the day." explained Hermione. She flipped through the channels to illustrate her point.

"Some of the programming comes from the other side of the world." said Hermione. She hit a few more buttons and the screen turned blue. She started the DVD player to start her next lesson.

"As you can see on the screen are three examples of technology from the 1960's." said Hermione. On the screen was a camera, a telephone, and a computer.

"As you can see each one is rather large and bulky. In today's world they all can be replace with this cell phone." explained Hermione. She held it up so that everyone could see.

"It is so small that I can slide it into my pocket." continued Hermione. She put it into her pocket and then pulled it out again. She flipped it open and pushed a few buttons.

"This cell phone can be use as a communication device, a camera to take pictures, and a computer that can be linked to the internet." demonstrated Hermione. She took a picture of Harry, pushed a few buttons, and he appeared on the TV monitor. "Magic."

"When we want to communicate with someone here in the wizard world we usually send an owl gram. It might take days or weeks to hear a reply. Not very conducive to a first year who is home sick and misses their family.

In the real world we use cell phones to communicate instantly. Push a few buttons and we're in contact with the person we want to talk to. I'll put it on speaker phone so that everyone can hear the person on the other end of the phone." smiled Hermione.

"Hermione, it's so nice to hear from you sweetie. I was just telling your father it won't be long before you and Harry will be coming home for the summer." greeted Mrs. Granger.

"Mom! I have you on speaker phone." exclaimed Hermione. She was a little embarrassed.

"Is Harry there? Hi Harry, I hope you're taking good care of my baby. I hope you're making sure she gets outdoors and gets some exercise. She's not so little anymore." Mrs. Granger continued to rambled on.

"Mom! Harry and I are teaching a class about technology in today's world. The class can hear everything you're saying." wailed Hermione wondering why her mother was doing this to her.

"Sorry dear, I forgot that you were teaching a class today." apologized Mrs. Granger.

"That's okay mom. I need you to go to the computer and turn it on so that we can communicate with each other using the computer." explained Hermione as Harry turned on the computer and switched the TV from DVD mode to computer mode.

"As I said before communication is instantaneous. You don't always know what the other person is doing when you call. The nice thing though is you can take your phone anywhere and be able to talk to anyone anytime anywhere.

Next we will communicate by computer. We will be using the plasma TV today so that everyone can see. The computer is a storage mechanism. It's like having a library at your finger tips.

You can do so many different things with it. Most people use it to write letters, do spreadsheet, write reports and play computer games. But it can also be used to communicate with other people if you are hooked up to the network.

There are several ways to do so. One way is to send an e-mail, letters and reports to other people." explained Hermione.

Harry typed up a note and showed the class how an E-mail was sent and how to enclose a report to be sent to a friend or a teacher. (Magic)

"Another way is to talk to another person is by using the computer. Using this camera I can be seen by the person on the other end of the connection." explained Hermione.

Harry connected to Mrs. Granger's computer and her image appeared on the screen for everyone to see.

"The beauty of modern day magic." smiled Hermione. "I can see my mom as if she was standing outside the window. I can see her as I talk with her. How many of you would have liked to have been able to talked to your mom liked this your first few days after you arrived here in your first year?"

There were more than a few who raised their hands, especially the girls. Many of them had never been away from home before coming to Hogwarts.

"Hi mom! We can see you here in the classroom." greeted Hermione.

"Hello again Hermione. It's so good to see my beautiful little girl. I hoped that Harry has been taking care of all your needs. You do know what I mean." smiled Mrs. Granger.

"Mother!" exclaimed Hermione as she turned a deep shade of red. Everyone laughed. Hermione wasn't the only one who had ever experienced such embarrassment from their mothers at one time or another.

"Mother, the purpose of this call is to show my classmates who have only lived in the wizard world how we communicate with each other in the real world. That the real world is progressing much faster than the wizard world has been led to believe." explained Hermione.

"So when am I going to see you Hermione? You didn't stay home last winter during your winter break. I do believe that you were on your honeymoon. I hoped the little talk we had the night before you left helped you when you were alone at night with Harry." smiled Mrs. Granger.

"Mother! What part of I'm in a classroom with eighty other people didn't you understand?" asked a frustrated Hermione. Her face was redder than a Weasley's hair.

"I thought that you wanted your friends to see how we communicated. The only way to do that is to have one of our conversations sweetie." queried Mrs. Granger.

"You're right mother. Classes end the twenty second of June. I'll see you then mom, bye." replied Hermione cutting the conversation short. She had been embarrassed enough for one day. The connection was ended and the screen went back to its desk top display.

"Harry will take over the next part of the class." said Hermione. She needed a break to recover her composure after talking with her mother.

"As Hermione mentioned before the computer can serve many purposes. One is its storage capacity where information, books, films, and paperwork can be stored and be easily retrieved.

It's like the magic bag. It can hold more than it appears it can. The computer can also hook up to the internet where the storage capacity of information available is equivalent to hundreds, maybe thousands of libraries.

It is said if you can think it, you can find it on the internet. For the purpose of this lesson we're going to look up something of value to the wizard world, to Hogwarts. It is said that no one knows what Lady Ravenclaw looks like.

There are no known portraits of Lady Ravenclaw at Hogwarts. Some say that very little is really known about Lady Ravenclaw since she died over nine hundred years ago. But thanks to the internet it might be possible to find out something about her.

Records during that period of time were often kept by the church. As some of you might not have known, the church wasn't very keen about witches and their perceived magical abilities. They usually hunted down any and all witches.

It was particularly prevalent during medieval times or the dark ages as some people like to call the times." began Harry.

Hermione typed in Lady Ravenclaw's name. Up popped several sites pertaining to her. Hermione clicked on the first one, then the second and the third. They mentioned that Lady Ravenclaw was a member of a prominent family in England.

The family was involved in building a school in central England with several other families and that it was eventually destroyed during the Norman invasion. On the last site she clicked on the see portrait.

When the portrait of Lady Ravenclaw came up on the screen there was the sound of immense surprise. Lady Ravenclaw was so beautiful, more beautiful than any woman had the right to be.

But what was an even a bigger surprise to many of them was that Lady Ravenclaw looked exactly like Hermione. No one could take their eyes off her.

"With modern technology we can print out a copy of Lady Ravenclaw's portrait in great detail. We'll print out two copies, one for the Ravenclaw house and another one for the halls of Hogwarts." said Harry.

There was a round of applause from the students in the classroom as they recognized the significance of what was happening. Hermione held up one of the copies of Lady Ravenclaw.

"It says here that if you want to know more about Lady Ravenclaw, you should visit the London Museum of Witchcraft." offered Harry.

"Hermione, Lady Ravenclaw looks exactly like you. I didn't know that you were related to her." observed Luna.

Hermione took one look at Lady Ravenclaw and shook her head in disbelief that anyone thought that she looked liked Lady Ravenclaw was crazy. She looked nothing liked Lady Ravenclaw. She still saw herself as the young girl she was before the blending.

"I'm a muggle Luna. There is no way that I'm related to her. Besides Luna, I don't look anything like her. Lady Ravenclaw is beautiful. I'm only cute and adorable." replied Hermione sullenly.

"Hermione, it might have been true that you were cute and adorable at one time, but that's not true anymore. You are very beautiful now. You look just like Lady Ravenclaw." countered Luna.

Hermione was a little shaken. Ever since the blending young men had been awestruck whenever they were in her presence. She could never understand why that was, now she finally understood. Lady Ravenclaw was very beautiful.

Harry called over one of the Ravenclaw girls and handed her one of the portraits of Lady Ravenclaw that he had rolled up and placed in a transport container.

"You might want to wait until you get a frame to put the portrait in. I think Hagrid would be more than happy to help you. Could you wait until tonight to hang it in your common area, I want to show it to Professor Dumbledore first." asked Harry.

"Thank you Harry, Hermione. I don't think you know how much this means to us. There are many stories about how beautiful Lady Ravenclaw was, but no one had ever seen a picture of her.

I doubt that anyone from the wizard world would have thought of checking to see if the Church of England had anything information about her." thanked the Ravenclaw girl.


	19. Chapter 19

Title: **************_The Blending 15_**

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them.

part nineteen

A half hour later Harry and Hermione were in Dumbledore's office with the heads of the different houses. They wanted to show everyone what they had found, the portrait of Lady Ravenclaw.

"What is it Harry? Why did you want to see all of us?" asked Dumbledore a bit confused. He wasn't used to the idea of being summoned by anyone, especially a student.

"During a class that Hermione and I were teaching this morning we came across something of note that I think everyone here would like to see. I didn't want to slight any of you." replied Harry.

"You were teaching Technology in the Modern World in Muggles class if I remembered right." smirked Snape. Was there no limit to their arrogance?

"Yes, we had gotten to the part of the class about using the internet. It's the place where information is stored so anyone can have access to it. Sort of like a library you can visit from anywhere in the world." continued Hermione. She saw the puzzled look on their faces when she mentioned the internet.

"It has been mentioned more than a few times that no one has seen or knows what Lady Ravenclaw looks like although there is much knowledge about her. We typed Lady Ravenclaw's name into the computer and hit search as an exercise on how to find information on the internet. We had a couple of hits." added Hermione.

Harry handed them copies of the information that they had retrieved from the different sites.

"We thought that since Lady Ravenclaw was a very important person in the wizard world, she might have made an impression in the real world too.

As you can see in these printouts, she belonged to a prominent English family that help build a school for young students belonging to prominent English families of the times. The school was reportedly destroyed when the Normans invaded England.

But we all know that wasn't the case because Hogwarts still survives today. Anyways as it so happens the London Museum of Witchcraft has a portrait of Lady Ravenclaw as part of their exhibit." informed Hermione to the sounds of awe.

"We printed out a copy of Lady Ravenclaw for you sir." added Harry. He unrolled the copy of Lady Ravenclaw for them all to see.

"We thought that you might want to frame it and maybe hang it somewhere where everyone can see it." added Hermione.

Dumbledore and the others took a look at it. The reproduction was outstanding. The woman they saw was exceptionally beautiful. She was as beautiful as they had always heard.

Harry and Hermione waited to see how long it would take before one of them recognized that Lady Ravenclaw looked liked Hermione. It didn't take them long.

"This is amazing Harry. The quality of the portrait is outstanding." observed Dumbledore.

"Yes sir, Technology has improved greatly over the years. As I was telling the class it's magic in its own right." smiled Harry.

"You say we can see the original in London?" asked Dumbledore seeking confirmation.

"Yes sir." replied Harry.

"I guess Ms Granger was right when she told us that our thinking had grown stale. I don't think any of us would have thought that the muggles would have done a better job of recoding our history than us, particularly back then when only the church and a few wealthy families could read and write." conceded Dumbledore.

"The beauty of an education in the real world sir. We are taught to look at things from different perspectives. We don't believe in limitations." replied Hermione.

"Albus, do you recognized the person in this portrait?" asked McGonagall causing the others to take a closer look at the portrait.

It was Lady Ravenclaw thought Dumbledore.

"Ms Granger?" observed Snape.

"So it would seem Professor." replied Hermione. She could see he was beginning to understand. She wondered what he would say next.

"You look like Lady Ravenclaw. Is this another one of your tricks Ms Granger?" accused Snape.

"I'm as shocked as you are Professor. Everyone says she looks like me, but I don't see myself when I look at her. I see myself as I was before the blending." replied Hermione wondering what his problem was.

"You're right Minerva, Lady Ravenclaw does resemble Ms Granger. I don't understand how that is possible, but then again none of us understood what happened when they blended together last fall. I don't think any of us will ever understand." agreed Dumbledore.

"I think we should thank Harry and Ms Granger. We can take a field trip to London and check out the Lady Ravenclaw exhibit at the museum ourselves." offered McGonagall.

"Yes, yes, you're right Minerva. It was very kind of them to do this for the school. Thank you Harry, Ms Granger." agreed Dumbledore.

Gryffindor

common area

Twenty minutes later Harry and Hermione were back in the common area where they met up with Ron, Luna, and a few of their friends. Word of their discovery today had spread throughout Hogwarts.

"Is it true Harry, does Hermione look like Lady Ravenclaw?" asked Dean.

"We gave Dumbledore a copy of her portrait. I assume that he will have it hung in the great hall so that everyone can view it. At which time you can make your own assessment." replied Harry to Dean's disappointment.

"I saw the portrait of Lady Ravenclaw in class, she looks like Hermione. They could be twins." exclaimed Luna excitedly.

"Now we're listening to loony Luna?" asked Tom shaking his head in disbelief.

"Hey Tom! There were a lot of us in the class today. We all thought Lady Ravenclaw looked liked Hermione." exclaimed Ron defending his sweetie.

20 April

London Museum

of Witchcraft

A few days later Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape took a field trip to London to look at the different exhibits at the Museum of Witchcraft. They were quite impressed with what they saw and the accuracy of the information about so many of the noteworthy witches and wizards in history.

They were surprised to see that not much information had been added to the museum after 1850. It was as if witchcraft had died then. But that was because they became more of a secret society at that time. They hadn't died out.

It made them wonder how they should go about dealing with that issue. They could donate exhibits of their own to let the world know that witchcraft hadn't died, but did they really want the world to know of their continued existence?

The Ministry of Witchcraft went out of their way to discourage witchcraft in public. Anytime it did happen they did damage control including erasing the memory of the person who had seen it.

When they got to the exhibit of Lady Ravenclaw, they were amazed. It was much more thorough then the one they had at Hogwarts.

"What are you doing Minerva?" asked Dumbledore.

"I'm taking pictures of everything in the Lady Ravenclaw exhibit. We can make replicas when we return to Hogwarts." replied McGonagall in a manner of fact manner.

"That doesn't look like a camera to me." observed Dumbledore. He was aware that cameras were used for taking pictures. He had seen many different kinds in the past. This thing didn't look like a camera to him.

"It's what Ms Granger calls a camera phone. You just point it and push a button. It's very popular among the young people today." explained McGonagall.

"What do you think Severus, does Lady Ravenclaw look like Ms Granger or was it one of her tricks?" asked Dumbledore with a sly smile.

"It would appear that Ms Ganger was being truthful. She and Lady Ravenclaw do bare a striking resemblance. Once again Ms Granger and Potter have opened our eyes about how truly ignorant we are." groused Snape.

"Well, they are younger and come from a different world than we do. They have been exposed to much more than we ever have. I've been talking to Harry. He tells me the world out here is changing so fast that even the muggles can't keep up." observed Dumbledore.

"Cell phones were much larger and bulky. Now they are much smaller and trimmer. They have many more functions such as a camera, radio, and computer with keyboard." continued Dumbledore.

"Ms Granger has told me the world is passing us by very quickly. That we are living too far in the past. We should be taking the best that technology has to offer and incorporate it into our world." replied McGonagall.

"Ms Granger is full of ideas. Part of the charm of this school is its traditional values that have been handed down from generation to generation." replied Snape.

"Doesn't mean that she's wrong. It does seem though that she happens to be right a lot more than she's wrong. What did you make out of those books that Ms Granger gave you to read?" asked McGonagall. She knew it irritated him to no end to have a student give him work to do as if he was the one in need of learning.

"They pretty much confirm what we already know about students aged eleven to eighteen, but what it has to say about gifted students I did find interesting.

They are going to act one of two ways. The first way is that they are bored and act out like Malfoy. The second way is that they overachievers like Ms Granger." replied Snape.

"Very interesting, but I think we've known about that too. I think the problem is us. We have to find better ways to challenge them." replied Dumbledore.

"Maybe we can incorporate some technology. It would be much easier to read their papers if they were printed out from a computer. There are too many students with poor handwriting skills.

It makes it difficult to read and understand what it is they are trying to say. It wouldn't take as long to check their work if we could read it." offered McGonagall.

"True, but how would we know if they did the work themselves?" asked Snape.

"Everyone has their own style of writing. We would know. Besides, we can make them hand write their papers the first few years. Later they can print out their reports when content is more important." replied McGonagall.

"So Severus, what do you think of the portrait of Lady Ravenclaw?" asked Dumbledore.

"It's well done. The painter did an excellent job. She is indeed very beautiful." replied Snape.

"Do you think it's possible that Ms Granger is a descendant of Lady Ravenclaw?" asked McGonagall.

"I don't know. I supposed it's possible that over the years members of her family might have renounce the use of witchcraft in order to fit into the Muggle world. Then again maybe somewhere along the line they married Muggles.

Maybe there is a gene that both parents need to pass down to their child in order for them to be a witch or wizard. It might explain why some families have muggles and witches in the same family." Dumbledore tried to explain.

"What are you talking about Albus?" asked McGonagall.

"He must have read that Genetics book Ms Granger gave Hagrid to help him with his breeding experiments. Too bad it didn't help him, his reading skills are quite limited." smirked Snape.

"While we can speculate all we want about why they look alike, it might be good to remember that Ms Granger didn't look like she does today before the Blending Ceremony. Many strange things happened that night. The flames were thirty feet high, it consisted of more than a few colors, it lasted more than ten minutes ..... " observed Dumbledore.

"And Ms Granger's transformation into a beautiful woman and now looks like Lady Ravenclaw." added McGonagall.

"During one of our many conversations on self improvement Ms Granger told me it was Potter's gift to her. It's how she believes he sees her." smirked Snape.

"But why was she transfigured to look like Lady Ravenclaw. Harry had never seen her before. No one had seen her likeness in the wizard world in almost a thousand years. It was only discovered by chance by Harry and Ms Granger when they were demonstrating how to use the internet." pondered McGonagall.

"Maybe it had something to do with her ghost. It has been rumored that she roams the grounds of Hogwarts. Maybe someday we will figure it all out." sighed Dumbledore.


	20. Chapter 20

Title: **************_The Blending 15_**

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them.

part twenty Surprise!

1 May

Malfoy Manor

It was Draco Malfoy's eighteenth birthday or was it his twelfth or thirteenth. At the present time he wasn't an eighteen year old boy, he was a young girl. Who knew the real answer? Did it really matter?

Draco had decided not to return to Hogwarts after Christmas. He decided it was better to stay at home after his transformation and learn how to live life as a young woman. He didn't know how the other students would treat him if he went back.

He didn't want to be bullied by the boys he had bullied in the past nor did he want to be pitied by the girls. How would the girls treat him? Would they welcome him as a young girl? Would they take care of him?

He didn't exactly get along with many of them, but he didn't abuse any of them either. He had pretty much left most of them alone. It was part of the problem belonging to the house that he belong to. They didn't get along very well with the other houses.

He hadn't seen many of his friends since last Christmas eve. He loved his mother, but he was lonely. There was only so much he could seal with on a daily basis. He missed hanging with his friends.

His mother decided it would be good for him if they held a birthday party for him and invite his friends to come. She also invited Hermione Granger and her new husband Harry although they weren't very close to him.

She always liked Hermione. She wanted to take advantage of any opportunity to see her. Hermione was a very special young lady. If she hadn't attended Hermione's wedding she wouldn't have a daughter right now.

She was so happy. Even Draco appeared to be happy living his life as a girl. Hermione was surprised to receive an invitation from Mrs. Malfoy to attend Draco's birthday party. Hermione didn't understand why she was invited to the party.

She had disliked Draco since first year and nothing had changed over the years. If anything she had grown to dislike even more. She thought about not attending the party, but decided in the end to attend.

For some reason unknown to her she liked Mrs. Malfoy. She was a special lady. She was very elegant and had style and grace that was unmatched by anyone she knew. It would be disrespectful to decline her invitation.

It was the reason she honored her wish in the first place and had given her a daughter after so many years without one. Mrs. Malfoy asked her to arrive an hour early so that they could spend some quality alone time together and talk before the party.

"Hermione, it's so nice of you to come. I know that you and Draco have never been the best of friends, but I enjoy seeing you. You look so beautiful and happy Hermione. Are you enjoying being married to Harry?" greeted Narcissa as she gave Hermione a hug.

"Thank you for inviting me. I've read a lot about wizard history and its more prominent families. I've always been interested in seeing how they lived." smiled Hermione.

"Let me give you a tour of the house then. We've just finished renovating some of the rooms." offered Narcissa. After the tour she led Hermione to a small parlor for some tea and cake.

"This is a beautiful place Mrs. Malfoy. I like what you have done in several of the rooms. You've given it a more modern look. I'm surprised that your house isn't larger." complimented Hermione.

"That you Hermione. Some of the rooms look pretty bleak and cold. I was trying to give the rooms a more warm and cozy feel. What kind of house do your parents own?" asked Narcissa.

"My parents have a large six bedroom, five bathroom house on the coast. The manor consists of thirteen rooms in all. Both of my parents work and make a good living. Here are several photos I have of the house." replied Hermione.

"That's a very nice looking Manor. I like all the porches you have around the house. The landscaping is impressive. You have a lot of windows." admired Narcissa.

"Thank you, It's a modern designed house. People today want more space, windows, and walk in closets. It's designed to welcome guests to the house." replied Hermione.

They took a walk to Draco's room. Narcissa wanted to make sure he was dressed properly. She noticed that he was struggling in his efforts to put on his dress. Narcissa stripped off all his clothing and proceeded to dress him as if he was a Victorian doll.

Hermione found the whole thing amusing as she watched his discomfort. Her own mother had stopped helping her dress when she was eight. He didn't even fight her or resist her help. He wasn't too happy to see Hermione standing there watching his mother dress him.

"What are you doing here?" asked a whimpering Draco. He knew of no reason for her to be attending his birthday party. They didn't like each other.

"I've been visiting with your mother. She asked me to come. She seems to be very happy about having a little girl to care for. You seem to be happy being a girl." smiled Hermione.

"It's been okay. I don't understand her need to change my clothing four times a day." murmured Draco.

"Why do little girls play with dolls? It's a tactile thing." smiled Hermione as Draco looked confused.

"Touching! Humans like to feel connected. Physical touch is how most people connect with each other. Babies like to be held by their mothers. Little children seek out the comfort of their mothers when they are hurt. Teenagers kiss, hug, and hold hands." explained Hermione.

She left him to think about what she had told him and returned to the parlor where the party was being held. An idea came to her. It was time to set the world right and in the process embarrass Draco and his friends in front of everyone.

An hour later it was time. Many of the students who were there had given Draco his gifts. That is gifts for a young girl and not for an eighteen year old boy. Hermione had given him a doll that could poop and pee.

Draco wasn't happy with most of his gifts. While he was a little girl now, mentally he was still an eighteen year old boy. He hadn't fully adjusted to being a girl. He put on a good face, but he was sulking on the inside.

Many of the girls kissed him when they gave him his gift and smiled. He wasn't sure what they were trying to convey to him. It was however quite unsettling to him.

Now was the time to put things right thought Hermione. It was time to make a man out of Draco if that was even possible. It was time to get everyone's attention. Time for some special effects.

She cast a spell causing smoke and flames to appear in the center of the room. Everyone stopped to see what was happening. Hermione emerged from the flame appearing to be ten feet tall wearing a long white robe causing everyone to look on in awe.

"A little more than four months ago was the happiest day of my life. A very lovely lady made the day even more special when she told me how beautiful I was and that she had always wished that I was her little girl.

I wanted to repay her for her kind words. She always wanted to have a daughter. I asked her to wished for what she wanted most in the world and if she really believed that it was possible it could come true.

I could see how much it meant to her so I made her dreams come true. She was so happy. What surprised me though was that no one has been able to reverse the spell since. Even when I showed them how to reverse the spell, they all still failed.

I was also surprised that Ms Malfoy likes being a girl. She has always shown so much distain for all of the girls at Hogwarts. I wondered what changed her thinking so much that she likes being one now.

She told me when I visited with her earlier that she has been lonely in her new life as a young girl. She has missed her two best friends. Goyle, Crabble, front and center. I think Ms Malfoy would like you to join her." said Hermione.

She waved her wand at them. There was a burst of smoke and flames reaching twenty feet high as they were transformed instantly into two twelve year old girls.

"There seems to be something seems to be missing." pondered Hermione.

She looked them up and down before she waved her wand again and they were dressed in the same manner as Malfoy right down to their feminine undergarments. She directed Goyle and Crabble to walk over to stand with Malfoy.

They did as they were told. They didn't want to agitate Hermione any more than necessary. They had lived in fear of her for the last couple of years. She knew so much more magic than they did. No one knew the full extent of her powers. They were afraid she would do something to them if they did something wrong.

"How nice, don't they both look beautiful. You see, it's not very hard to change an arrogant ass into something much sweeter like a little girl." smiled Hermione to everyone's surprise. There was some applause as many of them had been victims to abuse by Goyle and Crabble.

"I think these three young ladies are in need of some male escorts for this formal event. We need three volunteers from the audience? I hope I don't have to asked twice." smiled Hermione as she raised her wand.

Lucius got to his feet. He didn't want to see what was about to happen especially to his son. He didn't want Draco to be embarrassed any more than he had already been.

He was about to say something when with a flick of her wand Hermione sent him crashing back into his seat. He couldn't move causing Snape to smile. Maybe now Lucius would believe him when he told him something, especially about Ms Granger.

Three of Malfoy's housemates quickly walked over to join the young ladies unsure of what was going o happen next. With a flick of her wand there was a table and six chairs for them to sit in. There was a tea serving set on the table.

"Ms Malfoy, won't you please demonstrate to everyone here the proper way tea is served at a formal social event. I've been told that you have become an excellent hostess." smiled Hermione.

Malfoy glared at her with contempt, but did as he was told. He asked everyone to take a seat around the table and preceded to serve them a cup of tea and a slice of cake. He offered them cream and honey for their tea. When they were done Hermione motioned them all to stand.

"That was excellent Ms Malfoy. Professor Snape will be happy to know that you have learned something useful during your little sabbatical. Tom, would you please do the honor of escorting Ms Goyle to me." Hermione smiled as Tom did as he was told.

"You may give your lady a proper kiss goodnight Tom." smiled Hermione.

As Tom's lips touched Goyle's lips in a kissed Hermione tapped her wand on Goyle's shoulder turning him back into his former ugly self while they were still enjoying their kiss. Everyone laughed with delight at the sight.

"Very nice Tom. You may escort your lady back to her seat. Your services will no longer be required when you are done. And Tom, don't forget to give Ms Malfoy a proper kiss to thank her for her hospitality." directed Hermione causing more than a few snickers.

"Fred, will you please do the honor of escorting Ms Crabble here to me." smiled Hermione.

Fred looked horrified as he escorted Crabble to Hermione. He didn't like the idea of kissing Crabble or Malfoy. While Ms Crabble looked rather attractive to him, she was still Crabble who was uglier than a goat covered in manure.

"You may kiss Ms Crabble goodnight Fred." directed Hermione as she repeated the process with them, turning Ms Crabble back into his former ugly self.

"You may escort your lady back to her seat. And don't forget to give Ms Malfoy a kiss to thank her for her hospitality." smiled Hermione.

Tom and Fred did their duty a little begrudgingly and returned quickly out of the line of fire to their other friends. They both received a round of applause for being such a good sport.

"Goyle and Crabble, you may kissed Ms Malfoy goodnight and thank her for her hospitality." ordered Hermione.

They did the deed and quickly moved away. They didn't know what was going to happen next, but they wanted no part of it. They didn't think of asking Hermione for their clothes back. They receive a round of snickers upon their return.

"Kendrick, will you please escort Ms Malfoy to me. After you've kiss her goodnight you can return to your friends." smiled Hermione.

Kendrick did as he was told and was surprised not to see Draco the man standing there like the others after their sweet kiss goodnight. He didn't complain, he just got out of there and walked back to his friends.

"Ms Malfoy, what a wonderful day this has been for you. Never been kiss before and yet today you have been kissed by five good looking young men. That must have been a wonderful experience for you, but now what are we going to do with you?

Your mother likes you the way you are now, a sweet preteenage girl who does as she's told and doesn't get into trouble. Your father wants you to be the man he thought he raised. Your friends would like to see you back at Hogwarts though I can't understand why that is.

If you were a real man who was proud of whom he was, you would have returned to Hogwarts after Christmas in January. Everyone would have benefited by your return. You would have been with your friends.

The staff would have been humbled before all the students by their failure to return you to your less than stellar self. They wouldn't have been as condescending to all the students who struggle in their classes.

It's too bad you didn't return to Hogwarts. You might have been embarrassed a little and maybe they would have tormented you for a few weeks, but you would have displayed the courage and honor worthy of being a pure blood, of being a Malfoy.

You would have gained respect from your peers. I could have returned you to your obnoxious and sniveling self at any time. All you had to do was apologize for your ill behavior towards women and asked me for your life back,

but I guess that would have been expecting too much from you. But that's not exactly a strong suit for you is it. It's time for your father to regain his honor and to get his son back." smiled Hermione.

So with a flick of her wand and a burst of flame twenty feet high, Ms Malfoy returned to her former self, Draco the young man. Hermione shook her head.

"Now go and apologize to your father for not being the son he deserves." ordered Hermione. And with another flash of flame and smoke she was gone.

"I told you Lucius that she was responsible for your son's fate. Her skills are remarkably advance for someone her age." smirked Snape to Lucius chagrin.

There were a few others of his high ranking ministry friends here today. He was sure that what had happened here today would make the rounds at the ministry and wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon.


	21. Chapter 21

Title: **************_The Blending 15_**

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them.

part twenty one

4 May

Several days later Severus was back at Hogwarts with a story to tell all. He met with Dumbledore and McGonagall. He wanted to update them on the status of Malfoy and his feminine condition.

He had always suspected that Ms Granger had cast the spell that had transformed Malfoy into a young girl. She was the only one that was capable. There wasn't another student with half her ability or knowledge.

"How was your trip to Malfoy Manor Severus?" asked Dumbledore.

"Full of revelations and illumination." smirked Snape.

"How so?" asked a curious Dumbledore.

"It seems Narcissa decided to invite Ms Granger to the proceedings. She had a nice visit with Narcissa before the party and the fireworks that followed." smirked Snape.

"I'm surprised to hear that Ms Granger would attended a party honoring young Malfoy. She and young Malfoy have never gotten along while they were here at Hogwarts." conceded McGonagall.

"But she and Narcissa do. Narcissa has always loved Ms Granger since the day they met. It seems that she has always wished that Ms Granger was her little girl They have bonded." replied Snape.

"What happened at the party?" asked Dumbledore. He never cared for this touchy feely stuff that others seem to like to talk about.

"Ms Granger professed that she had cast the spell as a test of our competence. She wanted to know if we could reverse the spell. If not, how would we go about solving it. She was quite disappointed in our feeble efforts. She thought she gave us enough clues when she gave us her journals." replied Snape.

"There was no mention of the spell in her journals." argued Dumbledore a bit annoyed that he was supposed to think.

"True, but she expected us to think like her. She expected us to do the same as she would have done when you come upon a problem you can't solve and don't have the answer for." countered Snape.

"She expected us to go to the library and researched the problem?" queried McGonagall.

"Yes, If you used her journals you would have been able to determine which books she had used in the past. There were two clues to begin with. The first involved wishing, the second involved a spell or charm involving transfiguration." explained Snape.

"And since we didn't know what the spell was it had to be from a book dealing with ancient spells and charms." said McGonagall upon realizing his train of thought.

"But we tried all the spells she suggested. None of them worked. She mentioned that the person making the wish and the person that was transfigured both had to want Malfoy to be himself again." argued Dumbledore.

"That's not entirely true. She didn't read everything that was in the book about the spell to us. Did either of you take the time to read the whole spell." countered Snape.

"No! I can't say that I did. What else did it say?" asked Dumbledore.

"The spell could only be reversed by the person who cast it. She put safeguards in place to prevent the spell from being reversed." replied Snape smirking. He was beginning to realize that they continuously underestimated her and her skills.

"How did she reverse the spell?" asked McGonagall.

"No one can know for sure. She cast all her spells silently. But there is so much more to tell. She decided to entertain all of us in the process of reversing it." smirked Snape.

"How so?" asked McGonagall curiously.

"She started by making a grand entrance by performing a spell with smoke and fire. She appeared to be ten feet tall. It scared more than a few people who were there, especially some of the ministry people.

Most of them can't do half of what she can do. They certainly don't have her imagination. Then she proceeded to tell us how the spell was a test of the Hogwarts staff's ability to deal with the unknown.

She wanted to embarrass us like some of us do with the less stellar students at Hogwarts. She wanted to see if we would as they say, try as hard to solve the problem as we demand from our students. Needless to say we failed her test.

She then had Malfoy and his close friends put on a skit to entertain us. She turned Goyle and Crabble into young girls the same age and dressed them like Malfoy. She asked for three young gentlemen to be their escorts for the tea party that Malfoy hosted.

She then had Malfoy demonstrate the proper way to host a high society tea party. She wanted everyone to see that Narcissa had taught him how to be a proper hostess. He did a fine job by the way.

When they were finished with tea and cake one by one Ms Granger had their escorts bring the young ladies to her. Each escort kissed their lovely girl goodnight.

At which point in time Ms Granger turned the young ladies back into themselves while they were kissing their escorts. They were still dressed as young girls." Snape told them.

"That must have been a dreadful sight." laughed Dumbledore.

"Each escort then kissed Malfoy goodnight as did Crabble and Goyle. He had received goodnight kisses from five of his best friends, which I might say thrilled everyone in attendance. When is was Malfoy's turn, Ms Granger proceeded to chastise him for ten minutes for being a coward and disgracing his family.

He was supposed to return to Hogwarts and endure the punishment of being a girl here at Hogwarts where their complaints go unheeded. It seems that Malfoy has great distain for the female gender.

He was supposed to live as a girl at Hogwarts so that he could gain a better understanding of what it was like to be a girl. Where the staff doesn't seem to care enough to do anything to stop it.

Though personally I think he suffered a far greater fate at home under the care of his mother. According to Lucius his mother changed his clothes four times a day right down to his undergarments.

She also explained to him the changes that his body was going to go through over the next several years. She was training him to be a good hostess and wife." smirked Snape.

"That must have been a shock to his ego." queried Dumbledore.

"Not at all, he seemed to like his mother's attention." smirked Snape.

"So how did it all end?" asked McGonagall.

"Ms Granger told him that if he had returned to Hogwarts after Christmas, she would have returned him to his former self after we had demonstrated to all the students that we don't make the same effort as we demand from them.

It was supposed to be a lesson in humility that it was possible to fail even when one made the proper effort to perform the task." replied Snape.

"I think she has been giving us lessons in humility all year. She has shown us that we aren't as smart as we like to think we are, we lack patience when our classes don't go as plan,

we don't challenge the students enough, and I'm sure that there are few more that I have missed. We need to have a talk with Ms Granger." conceded Dumbledore.

"So did she change Malfoy back to his old self?" asked McGonagall.

"She made a major production of it. There was smoke and flames shooting all about twenty feet high. When it was over Malfoy was standing there wearing little girl's clothing which were a bit small.

She told him to report to his father and apologize for being a sorry excuse of a man. There was another puff of smoke and she was gone." replied Snape.

"Sounds like she put on one hell of a performance. I'm sure we will be hearing about it for some time to come." smiled McGonagall.

"I'm sure Lucius will be one of those people we hear from. Though maybe he won't make too big of an issue out of it." sighed Dumbledore.

"He'll probably want you to do something about Ms Granger." offered McGonagall.

"I don't think we will have to worry about that. I think he'll be dealing with Draco for some time. And then there's Narcissa. She lost a daughter in the process." informed Snape.

7 May

A few days later they asked Hermione to join them in Dumbledore's office. They wanted to talk to her about what happened at Malfoy's party and her part in deceiving them for the past four months. They wanted to know why she did it.

But like before Harry and Hermione decided that they would meet with them as an united front. Harry wasn't going to allow them to gang up on her even though he knew she could take care of herself.

He knew that adults liked to intimidate young people to get what they wanted. Most young people aren't even aware that it is happening to them especially when they are alone and are being manipulated by skilled adults.

"I asked only for Ms Potter. Harry, you will need to leave." directed Dumbledore.

"No Sir, we're married. When you wish to speak with one of us, you will speak with both of us. We've had this discussion before. We know why you want to talk with her alone. We're not going to put up with your condescending attitude anymore." replied Harry.

"We never talk to our students in that manner." argued Dumbledore.

"We're not eleven anymore professor and you're doing it right now. You're talking down to us." argued Harry.

"What happened to Malfoy was a spur of the moment thing. It was not something that was planned. But if you had discipline Malfoy for his lack of respect towards women and those he does not believe to be his equal, then none of it would have happened." Hermione tried to explain.

"Ms Granger?" questioned Dumbledore.

"Stuff it! You forced me to put up with his bullshit for six and a half years. You obviously weren't going to do anything about it. So when the opportunity presented itself I took full advantage of it." answered Hermione forcefully.

"It still amazes me that you were all incapable of understanding what happened and were unable to figure out how to solve the problem. You all knew that I cast the spell and that no one else had the ability.

I gave you how many journals explaining to you how to go about solving the problems that Harry and I had to overcome over the years. I even gave you a list of what books I used to get the needed information to solve the problems.

You had everything that you needed to rectify the problem, but you failed. You made little or no effort to counteract the spell I cast. You make fun of so many students who don't learn the skills quickly enough, but at least they try.

Yet all I can see from all of you is, that you have forgotten how to learn yourself. Maybe it's time for some of you to go back to school in the real world to see how other instructors teach." scolded Hermione.

Dumbledore was flabbergasted. He had talked to them many times this year. While he was sure that they respected his staff, he had somehow lost their trust. They were questioning their ability to do their jobs after so many years.

"How naive the young are. They see only what they wish to see. They don't see the entire picture. Teaching students isn't the only thing many of us do here. Four of us are head of houses.

Then there are the logistics of feeding and housing the students along with insuring that there are enough supplies to teach everyone. There are many classes to prepare for. It would be so much easier if everyone learned at the same level and pace, but they don't.

Believe it or not Ms Granger we spend many hours outside the classroom helping students like Longbottom and Lovegood master the skills that we teach them. If we're lucky some of the older students are willing to take the time to help the younger students master the skills they need to learn.

I'm sure that you've helped many students who might be in need of assistance. You may be able to communicate better with them. It's not uncommon for students who know how to do something to freeze in front of their teachers." countered Snape.

"While if may be your belief that we should have done more, we didn't have the time. Professor Snape has had to test more than two hundred and fifty of your potions. He had to review the processes that you used and compared them to established protocols.

Many of the spells and charms that you have learned we haven't taught here in many years. I've spent months studying your journals trying to determine why you learned some of the things you did. Wondering whether or not we should consider teaching them to the other students.

Malfoy's situation, while unfortunate for him and his family, wasn't a huge priority for us because he decided not to return here. We have many other students to worry about and take care of." explained McGonagall.

"We have rules Harry, Hermione for a reason. They need to be followed for the safety of all our students. We can't have students turning other students into animals, inanimate objects, or someone else.

There would be too much confusion. Students could go missing and never be found. Parents hold us responsible for their children welfare. Students shouldn't have to live in fear of offending a superior wizard or witch.

We all know that Malfoy hasn't been a model student by any stretch of the imagination, but what you did was very wrong. We are limited in how we can discipline any student. It's up to their parents to determine how they are to be discipline." added Dumbledore.

"Lucius Malfoy has been told many times about his son's transgressions. Despite what you might believe Ms Granger, he isn't happy with his son's behavior any more than you are. He expects better from him.

He holds his son to very high standards. There have been things Draco has wanted from his father that were denied him. While Lucius might not think very highly of mud bloods, he expects Draco to show all young women the proper respect they deserve." informed Snape.

"Your behavior hasn't always been proper yourself Harry. We have found you wandering the hallways late at night many times. Many times you have visited Hagrid when you have been restricted to the Gryffindor common area or to your room.

We have given you both a lot of leeway over the years Harry because of the threat from Lord Voldemort. We've done our best to protect you and provide you with the skills you would need so that you were ready to face him.

As for you Ms Granger we have marveled at your abilities since the first day you arrived here seven years ago. We knew that you were going to be special, but we didn't realized how gifted you really were.

You have destroyed every perception of what students are capable of learning and that it can be done at a much younger age than it was ever thought possible. You're going to leave here with more skills and knowledge than just about every witch and wizard will learn in a lifetime.

Which leads us to how are we going to evaluate Harry and you this year. We know the standard tests won't be adequate enough. We also know that you haven't been totally forthcoming with us about what you have really learned this year.

We're going to need to see a list or journals of the additional skills that you have acquired and mastered if you want an accurate rating Ms Granger." requested Dumbledore.

"We suspect that your rating will be such that only a handful of witches and wizards in the world will have a higher rating than you Ms Granger." informed McGonagall.

"You will have all the necessary information that you will need. And I'll admit that what I did I was wrong, but you left me very little choice in the matter.

It is very easy to pass the blame onto someone else whenever you don't want to accept the responsibility for your own inaction. I get that from Ron all the time. You were right that you have to protect all the students from the more gifted ones,

but you also have to protect the weaker ones too. I have learned to protect myself from bullies like Malfoy, Goyle, and Crabble. I had to hit them back harder than they hit me because anything less and they wouldn't respect me.

I and others have had to endure his bullying for six years. Of all people Professor Snape I would think that you would understand. Harry and I have learned from several reliable sources that his father bullied you relentlessly.

It is why we are disappointed. Eleven year olds might not understand your lack of compassion, but eighteen year olds aren't so naive. We know when we are being fed a line.

So you can blame the parents all you want for you not doing the right thing, but in the end we know that you're the ones responsible for any ill treatment that isn't corrected." replied Hermione before she and Harry left the room.


	22. Chapter 22

Title: **************_The Blending 15_**

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them.

part twenty two

21 June

Graduation

The time had come. It was graduation time for Harry, Hermione, and Ron. It was rumored that this year's class was the best one in many years, maybe ever. The families of every student were there including the Malfoys even though Draco Malfoy wasn't graduating with the class.

He would be spending the summer at Hogwarts undergoing intensive training and individual attention to make up for the time he had missed in the spring semester. Hermione led the graduates into the great hall since she was highest rated student.

She was followed in by Harry since he had the second highest magical rating. Ron finished somewhere near the middle not far behind Luna who exceeded the expectations of all her instructors in her final year.

She told everyone it was because she was happy for the first time in years since her mother died. Harry and Hermione teased Ron for being behind her being so happy. When everyone was finally seated Professor Dumbledore began his speech.

"Welcome students, families, staff, and friends to Hogwarts and Graduation day. It has been a special year beginning with the Blending Ceremony last fall, a special wedding last winter, and to the discovery of a portrait of Lady Ravenclaw a few weeks ago.

This year's class has also been quite special as two students rewrote the book on what is possible to attain here at Hogwarts. They greatly exceeded everyone's expectation.

In the History of Hogwarts there had been only ten students who had ever achieved a magical rating of 7000 or better with the highest rating being 8100.

This year alone we had fifteen students who achieved that feat. Would those fifteen students please stand up and be recognized." asked Dumbledore to a round of applause from the gathering.

"Thank you everyone, you may take your seats. Now you might ask who had the previous highest rating, though I'm sure many of you already know. Yes, it was I with a rating of 8100. That was the rating I received almost sixty years ago.

I thought that I was very smart. Everything came very easily to me, but one thing I never did while I was attending Hogwarts ..... I never challenged myself to do more than what was necessary to succeed.

I was content just to be better than everyone else and not to be the best that I could be. I never realized my full potential while I was here. I have always led my life that way, always resting on my laurels.

I was always contented to be better than everyone, but not contented to be the best I could be. In all my years teaching here I never expected more from the students than I would have expected from myself.

That all changed this year when an exceptional young woman questioned her magical rating. Like many others here I wondered why. Why was it so important to her how accurate her magical rating was." as Dumbledore rambled on.

"Here we go again. We're going to hear about the amazing and truly gifted Ms Granger. He's going to tell us how smart she is and how beautiful she is. I bet you that he won't say anything about the spell she cast on Draco last winter.

He won't tell us how she publicly humiliated us in front of our friends a few months ago at Draco's birthday party." whispered Malfoy to his wife in a whining tone.

"Hush dear, while her method was wrong her heart was in the right place. I got the opportunity to experience for a short time what it was like to have a daughter. It was a very precious gift to me.

Draco learned humility and to respect women of all ages. You've gained because Draco is a better young man now after his experience. He a man that you can be proud of." countered Mrs. Malfoy.

"The staff and I couldn't understand why she was questioning her magical rating. She had already attained the highest magical rating ever here at Hogwarts and she still had a year of study to go.

She told us that since it was so important to us that she have a magical rating, then it should reflect her true magical knowledge and skill. It left us all in shock including Professor Snape." smiled Dumbledore gathering laughs from the audience. Everyone there knew how much a prude he was.

"Her rating at the time was 9875. How much higher could it really be? How much more did she really know that we weren't aware of? She gave us about a dozen journals of her extra work to look through.

The body of work she had done was very impressive. It has led us to reexamine how we teach many of our classes. She was doing things at age twelve that we don't usually teach to students until sixth or seventh year.

Even then many of the students have trouble mastering those skills. After examining her journals and testing her, her sixth year magical rating increased to 10640." informed Dumbledore.

There was a gasp from the gathering. The numbers they were hearing were beyond belief for many of the older witches and wizards in attendance. Many of them didn't have a rating that high even after twenty years since they attended Hogwarts.

"I can tell you that not that many wizards ever attain a rating that high in their lifetime. She was only seventeen. When we asked her what was the key to her achievement she told us that she had been raised to be the best that she could possibly be.

She shouldn't be satisfied with attaining the goals others had set for her since they didn't know her full potential and what she was capable of doing. It was important to her to set high goals and if she met them, she would exceed the expectations that others had of her.

I supposed that I can't complain about my life. I have always done whatever I wanted to and have been very successful. I love what I do here, but when I think about it, have I been the best that I could have been or have I just settled for being better than everyone else?

It's a question that I'm not sure that I can answer, but I can now say I wished that I had someone in my life who told me that I should strive to be the best that I could be and not to settle for what others thought was acceptable." sighed Dumbledore in resignation.

The Grangers listened with great satisfaction. They knew that Dumbledore was talking about Hermione and the values that they had instilled into her since she was a wee little lass.

It gave them a sense of great pride that their little girl had changed the way of thinking of such a great man, a man who had been set in his ways for as long as he could remember. Hermione had made a great impact at Hogwarts.

"I wonder whom this great person that Professor Dumbledore is talking about? I think it must be you Mrs. Potter. Can you imagine having such an impact on the way he thinks?

He's supposed to be the greatest wizard since Gryffindor and Slytherin and you have caused him to question the way he lived his life and change the way he thinks. Be the best you can be, don't settle for less." whispered Harry in amazement.

"We both know he had grown stale. No one has dare challenged him intellectually for fifty year. It was time for a change in their way of thinking." smiled Hermione.

"But before I introduce you to her, let me talk to you first about a young wizard who had the second highest magical rating of this year's class. He magical rating was much higher than my own thus becoming the greatest wizard ever to attend Hogwarts.

Many of you already know him. He has defeated Lord Voldemort five times in his life beginning when he was only a baby. His name is Harry Potter. He has attained a magical rating of 9840.

His ability to master the Defense Against the Dark Arts skills is truly amazing. Even more amazing was when he taught over one hundred students the advance DADA skills during a time when the threat of Lord Voldemort was looming over all of us.

He has shown us that students here at Hogwarts are capable of learning and mastering more difficult skills at a much younger age than it was thought possible. Lets stand and give a round of applause to show our appreciation to Harry Potter." directed Dumbledore.

There was a five minute ovation for Harry. Many of the students had learned a lot from Harry over the years, particularly Modesty and Humility being the most important.

No matter what he accomplished he was always quite humble about the accomplishment and thanked others for giving him the opportunity to succeed. For without their help he wouldn't have been able to accomplish what he had.

"Now without further adieu, this young woman has set new standards that will never be seen again at least not in my lifetime. She has accomplished more in her short eighteen years than many have done in their entire life.

Her magical rating is so high that only ten others have hit this historic milestone in all of England. Her rating is an astonishing ..... 12400. May I introduce you to the greatest student ever to attend Hogwarts and perhaps the greatest witch ever, the wife of Harry Potter, Ms Hermione Granger." introduced Dumbledore.

Everyone stood and gave her an ovation that lasted more than ten minutes. They were stunned to hear how high her magical rating really was. They all had heard that she was very gifted.

They had been hearing about her accomplishments for many years, but never could they comprehend the full extent of her knowledge and abilities. Not only that, but she was so much higher than even Harry.

What scared them the most was, was she really that gifted or were they all that stupid. Some of them had struggled to do the work, some of them only did as much as they needed to get by.

Even the brightest of the rest knew that they hadn't really pushed themselves very hard to do more except when Harry taught them some DADA skills that he had learned.

"Thank you everyone, I don't know if I can live up to such high praise. It makes me feel like I have to perform magic tricks to entertain all of you." smiled Hermione causing everyone there to laugh.

Hermione could see that everyone was looking at her like the young wizards in her classes often did. They seemed to be intoxicated by her beauty or maybe it was her historic accomplishments.

"But before I do I need to make an apology to two special people who are in attendance today who have never done anything wrong to me. In fact at my wedding they had given me the most wonderful praise two people could give me.

They told me how beautiful and special I was, that they loved me, and wished that I was their own little girl. It was wrong of me Mr. Malfoy to turn your son into a twelve year old girl.

I'm sorry Mrs. Malfoy for taking away the little girl that I gave you after such a short time, but I felt at the time that Draco had learned his lessons. Those lessons were humility and respect for women.

I thought that if he lived as a girl for awhile, he would understand us better and treat us with the respect that we deserve. I assure you both that my actions were not intentional nor were they meant to hurt anyone.

It was a spur of the moment decision that I made when you expressed your desire to have a daughter of your own to love. I was informed later that my actions were wrong for so many reason.

Mainly because the weak and less able have to be protected from the more highly skill and arrogant students. They shouldn't have to live in fear of offending someone. I didn't have to take much time to think about it,

I had to agree. I had become the arrogant one. For that I'm truly sorry and again I apologize to Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy for my actions." concluded Hermione as she looked around.

"After hearing such wonderful platitudes about my abilities from Professor Dumbledore I believe that you might wish to see a sample of my abilities. Bare with me, I hadn't planned on entertaining you today.

The first thing I need to do is create an illusion of a technology friendly zone. I mastered this skill when I was fifteen when I wanted to listen to some music on my iPod. I started small, only in my room.

Later I was able to create a zone large enough to encompass the common area where the Gryffindor house could enjoy some great parties hosted by Fred and George Weasley to the chagrin of Professor McGonagall." smiled Hermione.

She could see the look on Snape's and McGonagall's faces when she told them about another skill that they were totally unaware of. Hermione waved her wand causing a burst of flames thirty feet high and smoke to fill that section of the room.

When the flames finally died down and the smoke dissipated there was a large plasma screen behind her twenty feet high by thirty feet long.

"I'm sure that many of you have heard about the Blending Ceremony last fall. The blending between Harry and I was supposed to have been very spectacular and an once in a lifetime experience. I was told that nothing like it had ever been seen before.

Why was that? How was it possible? No one really knew, though there were more than a few speculations. One possibility that I had in my mind was that the average magical rating of the two people who were being blended was between 11500-12500.

The magical rating of Harry and I at the time was about 19000. Normally a blending will last two to three weeks. Harry and I were blended for three months. We only separated ten days before Christmas.

Now thanks to the foresight of Mr. Weasley and his fascination for muggle technology I present to you for the first time on the big screen the last few Blendings of last autumn's Blending Ceremony." smiled Hermione as she waved her wand again.

Everyone watched as five girls blended with the wizard of their choice. The flames reached eight to ten feet high and were either blue, green, or red. They all were very nice. Then it was time for Harry and Hermione to blend.

Everyone watched as the flame reached thirty feet in height and lasted more than ten minutes. The flames changed colors many times as a reflection of the different skills that they had mastered.

When the flames died down after ten minutes they saw Hermione standing there looking like a goddess in her long white flowing robes.

"I've forgotten how much you have changed Hermione. You looked so different before the blending." cried out Luna.

"We all thought that you had become a goddess. You looked so beautiful." added Dean.

"It has been rumored that only Lady Ravenclaw was as beautiful as you are Hermione." shouted out George Weasley who was surprised that little brother Ron was graduating. He could be so dense at times.

"What an awesome sight. That was so amazing." cried Mrs. Granger. Her little girl had become a beautiful woman that day.

Hermione moved her likeness to the right side of the screen. Next up was five minute tape of her walking down the aisle to marry Harry right up to showing Harry poking Ron in the ribs causing everyone to laugh.

They saw the love between Harry and Hermione when they shared their vows and drank the potion that Snape had given them. Their love seemed to grow right before their eyes.

"It's interesting that you should bring up Lady Ravenclaw, George. Until recently no one here at Hogwarts had ever seen a portrait of her until Harry and I discovered her on the internet.

There is a portrait of her in the London Museum of Witchcraft in London. Currently there is a copy of her portrait hanging in the Ravenclaw common area and in the Great Hall." smiled Hermione.

Once again Hermione flicked her wand and an image of a very beautiful woman appeared on the screen. It was Lady Ravenclaw looking very elegant and so regal.

"Harry and I were giving a class on how to use the internet when we came upon a couple of sites pertaining to Lady Ravenclaw. On one of the sites we found her portrait." said Hermione pointing to the picture on the screen.

"She looks just like you Hermione. You are as beautiful as Lady Ravenclaw." someone yelled out.

"So I have been told. If you want to know more about Lady Ravenclaw, you should visit the London Museum of Witchcraft. They have an exhibit of her there among many other exhibits." replied Hermione.

And with a flick of her wand there was a flash of smoke and flame thirty feet high. When it dissipated the screen was gone. So ended Hermione's little performance. She was given another ovation as she went to sit down by Harry.


	23. Chapter 23

Title: **************_The Blending 15_**

Author: _red rooster dawn_

Pairing: Harry and Hermione

Disclaimer: don't own them, don't make no money on them.

part twenty three afterwards

When the ceremony was over Harry and Hermione found her parents. It had been a special day so far. Dumbledore had offered high praise to Harry and special praise to Hermione.

Harry had become the best wizard to ever attend Hogwarts and Hermione was the greatest student ever to attend Hogwarts. Her accomplishments had changed the culture of what was attainable from a student.

The culture of low expectations from students was forever changed. It was no longer good enough to be better, but one needed to be the best you could be.

"Hermione, Harry, congratulations! You both should be very proud of your accomplishments. I've always thought that you were special sweetie, but I never realized how truly gifted you were." exclaimed Mrs. Granger.

"Thank you Mom, but I think being with Harry was the reason for our success. Our curiosity led us to some interesting situations. Because of that I spent more time in the restricted section of the library looking for solutions to the problems. Along the way I came across many books of interest." explained Hermione.

"While that sounds nice Hermione, to outdistance everyone else by so large a margin and to attain a magical skills rating higher than most people will in a lifetime is a great accomplishment.

While others may do better in the future than what has been done in the past, no one ever will do as well as you Hermione. To change the way people think is truly an amazing feat in itself." observed Mr. Granger.

"Thank you Daddy. While my accomplishment might be great, I still wouldn't have done it without Harry, he was my inspiration. If I wasn't with him I wouldn't have done most of the things I did." replied Hermione.

"Thank you Harry for being there for my little girl. You should be very proud of your accomplishments too. You have the honor now of being the greatest wizard, dethroning the one and only Dumbledore. He who was proclaimed the greatest wizard of the last thousand years." smiled Mr. Granger.

"Thank you Sir, but it doesn't mean much to me. It doesn't change who I am. I'm satisfied with being the best that I can. I'm not into beating someone else. I'm more proud of Hermione's accomplishments because it will change the way the people of the wizard world view the real world." replied Harry.

"I didn't see your Aunt and Uncle here Harry." observed Mrs. Granger.

"They didn't come. They aren't too interested in the world of witchcraft other than it relieved them of the responsibility of looking after me." replied Harry. He wished he had someone like the Grangers taking care of him when he was growing up.

"Well you're part of our family now Harry. We're very proud of your accomplishments and that you have been a part of Hermione life the last seven years." smiled Mr. Granger.

What a lovely compliment thought Harry. He was about to respond when he saw Ron and his family heading their way. They were quite a sight to behold. No where else would you see so many redheads and people who had no fashion sense.

He wondered who was the first person to tell redheads that they should wear clothing of red, green, and brown coloring. They really weren't good colors for redheads.

"Hey Harry, Hermione. Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I would like you to meet my parents and family." greeted Ron. He wanted to spend some time with his friends and get away from his family. He wasn't sure when he would see Harry and Hermione again.

"He's quite tall and lanky Hermione. He's kind of cute for a carrot top." teased Mrs. Granger. Everyone chuckled at the comment.

"Mom, you have met Ron before. He was Harry's best man at our wedding." Hermione informed her mother.

"I don't remember seeing much of him. He sulked most of the time during dinner and disappeared shortly afterwards. I was hoping to have a few dances with him. He looked very cute that night." teased Mrs. Granger.

"Ron doesn't like to dance Mom. It would mean doing something that he doesn't like in order to please a girl." smiled Hermione.

Ron cringed at the zinging comment. Why was she taking shots at him? What had he done to deserve this? He had thought that they had left all that stuff behind them. He felt even worst when he heard members of his own family laugh. Was he ever not going to be the butt of their jokes?

"In all my years I have never seen what I've seen today. I never thought that I would see Dumbledore be so humble. Humility isn't one of his finer traits. Seeing Harry being recognized as the best wizard and seeing Hermione being recognized as the greatest witch or wizard ever was special." observed Mr. Weasley.

"That was a wonderful demonstration Hermione. It's not that often you see something like that at Hogwarts. I'm surprised that Dumbledore would let you do something like that. He hates technology. The size and scope was breathtaking and so beautiful." squealed Mrs. Weasley.

"What makes you think he gave me permission. Harry and I have been doing what needs to be done since we got here. They have been underestimating our abilities since we came here. With all the praise he was giving me, I thought I needed to give a small demonstration of my ability." replied Hermione.

"I don't understand, how were you able to create a technology friendly zone? How were you able to create such a big screen and show us the Blending Ceremony and your Wedding? It was fantastic Hermione." said Mr. Weasley with a puzzled look.

"You have to be willing to do the research to overcome the problems that life throws in your way. You have to be willing to look for answers in the restricted section of the library. There is a reason why they don't want you going there.

There are so many interesting books that can give you an advantage in life, but you have to be willing to do the work. They aren't willing to do the work. They have been set in their way of doing things for so many years. It's enough for them to just go through the motions.

But to answer your question, I mentioned that I learned how to do it when I was fifteen because I wanted to listen to music on my iPod. Viktor Krum had shown me how to make a small hole in the zone a few months before,

but it took me a few months to master the skill. I taught Fred and George how to do it last year so that they could throw parties on the weekend." smiled Hermione.

"So Ron, when are you and Luna getting married? The two of you have been quite an item since the wedding." asked Harry.

Ron looked at Harry in disbelief. Why was he bringing Luna up in front of his family? Why was he giving them ideas?

"They do make a nice looking couple." agreed Hermione.

"I think I read a story about them once. It was called Beauty and the Beasty." laughed Fred.

"How come this is the first that I'm hearing about this Ginny? You were supposed to keep me updated about his love life." pouted Bill.

"Ron and I came to an agreement. I wouldn't say anything about him and Luna making out all semester and he wouldn't tell anyone about whom I was seeing." replied Ginny.

While they were discussing his love life, Ron silently disappeared from sight. Once again he wanted to talk to Harry about making plans for the summer and everyone was talking about him and Luna.

He didn't know if he would even see Harry again. Harry and Hermione had told him on more than one occasion, they come from another world. Which world would they decide to live in? He didn't know their plans. Now he might never know.

"You and your family must come and stay with us this summer Mrs. Weasley." offered Mrs. Granger.

"It would be too much of an imposition I'm afraid. Our family is rather large you see." replied Mrs. Weasley hoping that Hermione's mother would insist.

"Nonsense, our home is more than large enough. Ron can bring Luna with him. Mr. Weasley can get a good look at the technology in the modern world and see how it's suppose to work. It's the least we can do. You have welcomed Hermione and Harry into your home many times." smiled Mrs. Granger.

"Thank you Mrs. Granger, we would be honored." replied Mr. Weasley.

Luna saw Ron walking by himself with a dejected look on his face. She wondered what was wrong now. He should be happy now that he was done with Hogwarts. She wondered what his family had done this time.

"What's wrong Ronny?" asked Luna after she gave him a kiss.

"I wanted to talk to Harry about his plans this summer. This might be the last time I get to see him." whined Ron.

"Harry is your friend Ron. There's a bond between you that will never be broken. You might not see him everyday anymore, but you will see him because he will want to see you." replied Luna.

"When did you get so smart?" asked Ron as he took her in his arms and hugged her.

"When I started believing in myself and when you began loving me." replied Luna.

"Luna!" whined Ron.

"Is that the problem Ron? Are you afraid to love someone?" asked Luna.

"It's not that so much as my brothers teasing me greatly about it. And Harry doesn't help. He asked me when you and I were getting married in front of them." he continued to whine.

"Would that be so bad Ron? We have known each other all our lives. We don't have unrealistic expectations of each other." wondered Luna.

"Isn't it a little too early to be talking about things like that? We just got through Hogwarts. I don't even know what I want to do with the rest of my life, do you?" replied Ron wondering why they were talking about this. He didn't want to upset her.

"Our parents weren't much older than we are Ron when they got married. Besides we have time to figure that all out. I just think we should spend some time together and see where it goes.

And as for seeing Harry again, Hermione told me that her mother was going to invite your family to spend a month at their home this summer. Hermione said you could come too if you behave yourself and bring me." smiled Luna as once again they shared a kiss.

After the Grangers and Weasleys left, the Malfoys approached Harry and Hermione. While Lucius hadn't appreciated what Hermione had done last winter, he had understood why she had done it.

He appreciated that Hermione apologized to him and his wife in public before everyone during a time she was being honored for her exceptional accomplishment.

Another part of him admired the skill it took to pull off the spell. It was very difficult spell to cast and not to be noticed by anyone while it was being cast took even more skill. He didn't understand how she managed to cast it unobserved.

"It's so nice to see you again Hermione. Your presentation was amazing. Lucius had told me about what happened last year at the Blending Ceremony. He said it was an once in a lifetime experience.

He said it was a spectacular occurrence to watch. He wished that I could have seen it. Thank you for allowing us to see such a special moment in your life. It was truly an amazing and beautiful sight to see.

It was so spectacular. It's no wonder you're so special and that you hung onto Harry for so long. I want to thank you for giving me so much this year. Your willingness to share in your happiness that night was heartwarming.

I got the experience of having a daughter, spending time with Draco, and seeing him become a better person." thanked Mrs. Malfoy.

"Thank you Mrs. Malfoy for the kind words. Once again I want to apologize to you and your husband for what I did to Draco. It was wrong of me to do so. It's something a bully would do to a weaker person.

I'm ashame that I acted in such a dreadful manner even though I felt justified in what I was doing at the time." apologized Hermione.

"You have no need to apologize Ms Granger. While I don't approve of what you did, it was necessary lesson that Draco needed to learn. Humility was never part of his character. He needed to learn that respect is earn and not given.

Being my son may offer him more opportunities in life, but it doesn't mean he's going to get a free ride in life. It was a very humbling experience for him. He needed to learn that you have to tread lightly when dealing with a person more powerful than you whether it's magic or a more powerful position in life.

I can already see that he's a better man for it. Also my wife is happier than she has been in years. I will admit that I had my doubts about your skills and abilities last fall. I didn't think anyone could be so skilled at so tender an age.

Even when I was told that you were the only one capable of casting the spell I didn't believe it. It wasn't because I didn't think you were capable, but because I didn't think it was part of your nature.

I didn't think that you could be vindictive. I didn't believe that you would consciously hurt anyone when you were so happy." said a respectful Malfoy.

"It wasn't my intention to hurt anyone. As you said I was very happy that night. You both paid me a very wonderful compliment. I just wanted to return the favor. To cast the spell on Draco was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. He had been bothering me for a long time.

If he had returned to Hogwarts I would have reversed the spell much sooner. I just wanted him to experience life as a girl for a short time since he had such a distain for us. I had hope he would appreciate what we go through everyday." explained Hermione.

"Severus seems to think that embarrassing the staff played a role in all this." queried Malfoy.

"They take themselves too seriously. They think the world revolves around them. It was interesting to see how they went about solving a problem that they didn't have an answer for even when I gave them enough information they needed to solve it." smiled Hermione.

"See Narcissa, I told you that they were full of themselves, that they were inflexible in their teaching methods, and they won't listen to what anyone has to say on how to improve the education one receives at Hogwarts." gloated Malfoy.

"Yes dear, and I have told you that Hermione had a brilliant mind and would accomplish great things. You have to admit what she did what no one else could have done it. You even told me that the Wishing Spell is one of the most difficult spells to cast properly." smiled Mrs. Malfoy.

"While that is true, it's mainly because there are many easier spells that can do the same thing. Why do something in a difficult manner when you can do it another way so much easier.

I will concede that Ms Granger is a gifted witch and her abilities are well beyond someone of her tender years. Anyone who can master spells and charms from the History of Ancient Spells and Charms should be respected. Most wizards today only use the book as a reference." replied Malfoy.

"Just how many of these spells and charms can you do?" asked Mrs. Malfoy.

"I can do most of them. There are only a few I can't do. I like looking at the thought process behind them. They aren't as easy to reverse by others. They usually have safeguards put into them." smiled Hermione.

"How were you able to reverse the spell when everyone couldn't?" asked Malfoy.

"The spell requires a safeguard to prevent someone else from reversing the spell by accident. In Draco's case he had to say the right word before I could turn him back.

When I talked to him before the party after Mrs. Malfoy finished dressing him I told him that if he was sorry for all the things he had been doing to the girls over the years at Hogwarts,

then at the appropriate time he needed to say please and I would reversed the spell. As well as I know him I would know if he was being sincere if he said please. If he was still arrogant he wouldn't say anything." replied Hermione.

"So when you reverse the spell, he asked you to? He wasn't happy being a girl?" asked Mrs. Malfoy disappointedly. She was beginning to feel sad.

"I think he loved spending time with you even if it meant he had to be a girl. He does love you, but we all want to be who we are. In the end he missed being with all his friends and doing all the other things he likes to do.

Harry was no different when we were blended. He liked being with me, doing things I liked to do, but he also missed spending time with his other friends. He missed playing Quidditch. It didn't mean that he loved me any less." replied Hermione.

"How did you become so wise at such a young age." asked Mrs. Malfoy.

"I like to read. No, I guess when you're not one of the more popular girls you tend to exist on the edge of the groups. You spend more time listening to what is being said. You learn that everyone has the same needs and wants as you do." replied Hermione.

"I can't believe that you aren't popular." observed Mrs. Malfoy.

"I spent most of my free time with Harry and Ron. I also spent a lot of time in the library doing research and studying. I didn't spend as much time as maybe I should have with the others." replied Hermione.

"Sometimes it's better to have a few close friends you can trust. They become a part of your life while having many friends now may mean having none in a few years when everyone goes their own way.

You're a remarkable young lady Ms Granger. I'm sure you're parents are proud of you. If there is one thing I learned here today was Dumbledore was right. Most of us do enough to get by, some may even try to be or think they are better than others, but none of us strive to be the best that we can be.

I thank you Ms Granger for the lesson in humility and for your sincere apology in front of everyone here today. My wife and I thank you for making Draco a better man." offered a humbled Lucius Malfoy.

Hermione was moved by their visit with the Malfoys. They had given her praise, accepted her apology with grace, and wished her the best that life had to offer. While Harry believed them to be pompous asses,

they did show class at a time when they could have been very angry and mean spirited about how she publicly embarrassed them at the wedding and at the birthday party. Instead they thanked her for teaching them humility and making their son a better man.

Harry and Hermione went off to find her parents and the Weasleys. It was time for the banquet and time to spend time with the people they loved. When they got to their table they saw the Weasleys on one end of the table,

the Grangers in the middle with two seats for them and Luna and Ron on the other end away from his family. Ron seemed to have a scowl on his face. They wondered why. Had his family embarrassed him again or was it Luna?


End file.
